tibravy  of  trhe  t:heoiocjical  ^eminarp 

PRINCETON  .  NEW  JERSEY 

FROM  THE  LIBRARY  OF 
ROBERT  ELLIOTT  SPEER 


BR  1725  .M32  1890 
Maclnnes, 
Joyfully  ready 


fc-U^c    &JL's*    §/— ^ 


vT 


r>-l. 


Joyfully  Ready 


PRINTED    BY 
SFOTTISWOODE    ANi<    CO.,    NEW-STREET 
LONDON 


Joyfully  Re 


A    SKETCH 


of  the  Life  of  Harry  MacLnnes 


BY  HIS    MOTHER 


Ninth   T/wusand 


LONDON 
SEELEY    AND    CO.,    LIMITED 

ESSEX    STREET,    STRAND 
1890 


CONTENTS. 


I.  Early  Boyhood,  1863-1876  1 

II.  H.M.S.  'Britannia,  1876-1878  .        .        .    .  19 

III.  At  Sea,  1878-1879 35 

IV.  At  Sea,  1 879-1 880 63 

V.  Preparation   for   Cambridge  and  begin- 
ning of  College  Life,  1881-83    .        .    .  8^ 

VI.     College  Life,  1883-84 107 

VII.  Last  Long  Vacation,  1884        .        .        .    .  131 

VIII.  The  Last  Week,  1884     .        .        .        .        ,151 


I. 

EARLY   BOYHOOD. 

1863-1876 

O'er  wayward  childhood  wouldst  thou  hold  firm  rule 
And  sun  thee  in  the  light  of  happy  faces, 
Faith,  Hope,  and  Patience,  these  must  be  thy  graces, 

And  in  thine  own  heart  let  them  first  keep  school. 


to  the  GLORY  of  GOD,  in  memory  of 

HARRY  MAC  INNES, 

UNDERGRADUATE   OF    TRIN  :'  COLL  :    CAMBRIDGE, 

WHO   MET   INSTANT   DEATH,    BY   A    FALL   FROM 

THE  ROCKS  OF  CHATILLON,  IN  THIS  NEIGHBOURHOOD. 

Sep.    22,    1884,    AGED   21. 

Joyfully  ready  for  The  Masters  call. 


Thanks  he  to  GOD,  which  giveth  us 

THE   VICTORY   THROUGH    OUR    LORD   JESUS   CHRIST." 

:  1  COR.  xv.  57. 


A  TABLET,  in  the  English  mountain  church  of 
Villars-sur-Ollon,  Switzerland,  thus  records  the 
sudden  end  of  a  bright  and  vigorous  life.  Yes, 
thank  God,  Harry  was  joyfully  ready  to  die,  for 
he  had  found  it  joyful  to  live  in  the  sunshine  of 
his  Heavenly  Father's  smile,  and  in  the  '  perfect 
freedom  '  of  His  service. 

To  show  how  an  uneventful  life,  with  its  ex- 
perience of  the  difficulties  and  temptations  of 
boyhood,  and  early  manhood,  led  to  this  glad 
readiness,  and  proved  the  power  of  God  fully  to 
satisfy  the  heart,  is  the  object  of  these  pages. 
They  are  put  together  in  the  earnest  hope  that 
they  may  speak  words  of  help  and  encouragement 
to  others. 

R  2 


0 

Early  Boyhood 


In  no  way  was  there  anything  intellectually 
remarkable  about  Harry  ;  his  character  was  not 
stamped  by  any  special  ability  or  talent  but  his 
life  shows  what  the  grace  of  God  can  do  with  a 
boy  of  everyday  material.  In  case  this  book  be 
taken  up  by  any  who  are  discouraged  or  dismayed 
by  the  temptations  and  difficulties  of  school,  or 
other  life  outside  the  home,  may  the  words  of  a 
working  lad  bid  them  '  take  heart  again.'  When 
he  heard  of  Harry's  bright  Christian  life,  and  joy- 
ful readiness  for  death,  he  said,  '  If  God  did  that 
for  him,  He  can  do  the  same  for  me.' 

Extracts  from  letters  received  by  him  will  be 
found  throughout  these  pages,  the  only  inducement 
for  inserting  them  being  the  hope  that  words  which 
helped  him  may  also  help  others. 

The  little  familiar  touches  will,  it  is  hoped, 
find  an  echo  of  kindred  feeling,  and,  if  thought 
trivial,  may  they  but  tend  to  prove  that  the  story 
is  that  of  an  everyday  experience. 

Harry's  grandfather  on  his  father's  side  was 
General  Mac  Innes,  married  to  Anna  Sophia, 
daughter  of  J.  F.  Reynolds,  Esq.,  of  Carshalton. 

His  grandfather  on  his  mother's  side  was 
Andrew  Johnston,  formerly  M.P.  for  St.  Andrews, 
Fifeshire  ;  who  married,  on  the  day  of  the  emanci- 
pation of  slaves  in  the  British  Colonies  (August   I , 


p 

jet.  5  Characteristic  Incidents  5 

1834)  Priscilla,  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Sir  T. 
Fowell  Buxton,  Bart. 

Harry  was  born  June  16,  1863,  in  London,  where 
a  part  of  his  earliest  years  were  spent.  Before  he 
could  speak,  he  was  described  as  '  breaking  into 
loving  beaming  smiles  whenever  any  one  speaks  to 
him.'  To  this  sociability  was  added  a  practical 
matter-of-fact  energy,  which  showed  itself  in  many 
of  his  childish  schemes.  When  barely  five  years 
old  he  was  found  on  a  hot  summer  evening  dealing 
out  water  through  the  railing  of  the  square  garden 
in  which  he  was  playing  to  any  of  the  passers  by 
who  would  accept  it,  and  especially  to  his  friends 
the  cabbies,  and  another  day,  hearing  a  cab  was 
wanted,  he  ran  off  before  he  could  be  missed,  to  a 
stand  at  a  little  distance,  where  he  found  his  '  wheel 
four,'  and  soon  returned,  seated  within,  his  merry 
face  just  showing  above  the  edge  of  the  window. 

He  was  always  a  'jolly '  boy,  and  the  friends 
of  later  days  would  have  recognised  in  the  sturdy 
little  fellow  the  same  independence  of  character 
they  knew  so  well.  During  the  same  summer 
(1868)  he  was  invited  to  pay  a  visit  by  himself  in 
the  north  of  England,  at  Rickerby,  near  Carlisle. 
Harry  was  nothing  loth  to  go,  for  he  knew  the 
place  and  its  inmates  well  ;  already  many  of  the 
happiest  associations  of  his  childhood  had  begun 


Early  Boyhood 


AT.   5 


to  centre  round  the  place,  not  long  afterwards  to 
become  his  own  home.  His  kind  relative,  Mrs. 
Head,  wrote  of  him,  '  He  is  a  great  pleasure  to 
my  husband  ;  few  children  of  his  age  would  be  as 
companionable,  for  he  amuses   himself  when  his 


'  riTSMW-  W$fc  K'c:  :~*  ^".  e's 


Cumberland  Fells  and  River  Eden,  from  Rickerby  garden. 

company  is  not  wanted,  and  is  most  lively  when 
it  is.  Content  with  any  one,  the  farm  is  his  most 
constant  resource,  where  he  is  "  very  busy  baking 
and  churning  "  ;  he  puts  his  whole  little  mind  into 
all  that  goes  on.' 


jet.  6  Mrs.  Hinderer  n 

Of  this  visit,  and  many  that  followed,  pleasant 
memories  connect  together  the  aged  man  and  the 
vigorous  little  boy.  Mr.  Head  liked  to  have  Harry 
sleep  in  his  room,  and  made  him  his  constant 
companion  in  his  walks.  On  one  of  his  birthdays 
he  had  the  great  delight  of  planting  a  little  tree, 
which,  now  in  full  strength  and  beauty  on  the  lawn, 
is  one  of  many  links  with  the  happy  past. 

The  following  summer  (1869)  he  was  again 
on  a  visit  there,  with  his  elder  sister,  and  the 
children  had  the  great  interest  and  advantage  of 
being  much  with  Mrs.  Hinderer  who  with  the 
Rev.  David  Hinderer,  her  husband,  had  toiled  for 
years  among  the  heathen  at  Ibadan,  some  days' 
journey  from  Lagos,  West  Africa,  and  who  was  at 
this  time  in  weakened  health.  Her  graphic  stories 
fascinated  and  awed  the  eager  listeners,  for  not 
only  could  she  tell  of  the  King  of  Dahomey's 
Amazons,  but  also  of  many  deeply  interesting  and 
touching  incidents  of  African  child-life. 

Mrs.  Hinderer  wrote  to  Harry's  mother,  '  The 
present  eager  desire  is  to  go  back  to  Africa 
with  me.  It  has  become  an  elysium  ;  you  will 
not  be  much  distressed  at  the  request  coming, 
expecting  the  desire  to  vanish,  but  it'  has  lasted 
three  days  ! ' 

His    parents    were    living    at    this    time     at 


8  Early  Boyhood  &r.  e 

Hampstead,  which  was  their  home  for  nearly  ten 
years.  From  their  house  could  be  seen,  across  the 
Heath,  that  of  his  grandmother  and  aunt,  Mrs.  and 
Miss  Mac  Innes.  The  former  was  his  only  sur- 
viving grandparent.  Her  love  blessed  and  en- 
riched the  lives  of  her  grandchildren,  and  of  all 
who  came  within  her  reach.  There  was  a  pecu- 
liarly strong  tie  of  affection  between  \  Granny '  and 
her  eldest  grandson,  and  Harry  owed  much  to  her 
wise  and  loving  care. 

In  his  home  life  he  was  now  the  second  in  a 
family  of  seven  children,  and  the  leader  of  his  four 
younger  brothers.  The  five  boys  seemed  a  little 
tribe  in  themselves,  so  that  a  dear  friend  on  a  visit 
wrote  home  to  his  little  girl  :  '  I  cannot  remember 
their  names,  and  call  Harry  "Neil,"  and  Jack 
"Harry"  (though  I  always  remember  Campbell's 
rosy  face)  ;  so  now  their  names  have  been  sewn  on 
their  coats,  that  I  may  not  make  such  mistakes  any 
more.'  Harry's  determined  character  developed 
fast,  and  his  self-will  often  required  correction.  It 
was  not  only  strong,  but  pertinacious — any  object 
upon  which  his  heart  was  set,  that  object  he  pursued 
with  his  whole  mind,  till  he  gained  it,  or  was 
obliged,  by  the  exertion  of  a  stronger  will  than  his 
own,  to  give  it  up.  With  how  many  boys,  is  it  not 
just  the  same !  and  surely  in  these  characters  is  to 


jet.  6  Northrepps  Hall 


be  recognised  a  great  power  for  good,  if  trained 
and  disciplined  aright. 

Among  the  delightful  varieties  of  Harry's  early 
boyhood  were  his  visits  to  the  home  of  his  great- 
grandmother  (widow  of  Sir  T.  F.  Buxton)  at  North- 
repps, in  Norfolk.  He  was  but  nine  years  old 
when  she  passed  into  the  Home  above,  at  the  age 
of  eighty-eight,  but,  thank  God,  later  on  he  could 
look  back,  and  clearly  remember  the  lovely  aged 
face,  and  the  wonderful  sympathy  shown  unfail- 
ingly even  to  the  youngest  of  the  many  little  ones 
often  gathered  round  her.  Happy  weeks  he  passed 
there,  where  troops  of  children  shared  with  their 
elders  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  shady  woods  and 
brilliant  garden,  or  in  expeditions  to  the  neigh- 
bouring sea-shore  at  Cromer,  or  Overstrand.  To 
the  special  delight  of  the  children,  flights  of 
parrots  and  cockatoos,  screaming  high  among  the 
trees,  or  from  the  ivy  on  the  garden  walls,  de- 
clared themselves  as  content  with  their  quarters 
as  any  of  the  party  there  assembled.  There  were 
grey  parrots,  and  green  parrots,  and  cockatoos  of 
various  kinds,  and  great  was  the  interest  and 
amusement  afforded  to  young  and  old,  in  watch- 
ing them,  especially  when  a  pair  of  the  green 
parrots,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  succeeded  in 
hatching  a  nest  of  young  ones,  in  the  comfortable 


IO 


Early  Boyhood 


Mi.  9 


shelter  of  a  hollow  tree.  The  proud  mother  was 
by  name  '  Mrs.  No  Feet,'  having  had  these  ex- 
tremities frost-bitten  one  severe  winter. 

A  pretty  story  of  one  of  the  parrots  is  told  by 
a  granddaughter  as  follows  : — 

'  It  was  perfectly  true  ;  I  saw  it  myself.  The 
white  and  black  puss  had  a  litter  of  kittens  in  the 


^o> 


Parrots  at  Northrepps. 

grey  parrot-house,  and  when  she  left  the  place  to 
get  food  the  old  grey  parrot  used  to  hurry  along 
the  perches,  till  he  got  to  the  box  where  the  kittens 
were,  and  then  sit  on  them,  wings  outspread,  till 
the  mother  came  back,  and  he  was  always  incensed 
at  her  approach,  shaking  his  wings  with  rage,  and 
giving  up  his  position  with  the  greatest  reluctance.' 
Harry  also  shared  in  the  early  morning  visits 


iET.  9  Hannah,  Lady  Buxton  1 1 

paid  by  his  great-grandmother  to  the  various  rooms, 
when  she  would  remind  the  children  to  come  to 
her  room,  to  repeat  a  text  to  her.  Not  one  of 
them  would  have  willingly  missed  the  privilege  of 
those  few  minutes,  when,  after  hearing  their  texts 
and  dispensing  spoonfuls  from  her  coffee  cup  to  all, 
they  proceeded  to  turn  out  the  '  treasure  '  drawer 
specially  reserved  for  them  in  her  room — the  room 
which,  though  so  often  filled  with  the  laughing 
voices  of  children,  was  felt  to  be  a  sacred  one 
indeed  by  those  who  knew  that  often,  long  before 
the  house  was  awake,  the  low  sound  of  weeping 
and  of  earnest  prayer  might  be  heard  from  the 
curtained  chair  by  the  fireside.  It  was,  indeed, 
truly  said,  that  '  sorrowful  yet  alway  rejoicing '  was 
a  fit  description  of  that  honoured  widowed  life, 
bereft,  ere  its  close,  of  all  but  one  of  her  eleven  sons 
and  daughters.1  Harry,  who,  at  the  time  of  his 
great-grandmother's  death  (March  1872)  was  the 
thoughtless  eager  boy  who  apparently  forgot  his 
text  as  soon  as  said,  in  eleven  short  years,  was,  by 
the  transforming  grace  of  God,  joyfully  ready  for 
the  same  glad  summons,  and  the  same  glad  service 
in  the  Home  above. 

1  A  fuller  description  of  her  character  may  be  found  in  a  short 
memoir  of  Harry's  grandmother,  Priscilla  Johnston,  in  Faithful 
Service,  by  Miss  M.  P.  Hack.     (Hodder  &  Stoughton.) 


1 2  Early  Boyhood  ^et.  i  i 

Harry's  school  life,  begun  at  Hampstead,  was 
continued  at  Rottingdean,  near  Brighton,  where  he 
went  in  January  1874. 

Letter  from  his  Grandmother. 

January  23,  1 874. 
Darling  Harry, — We  did  so  mind  parting  with  you 
this  morning,  and  wished  to  hear  all  about  you  when 
mother  returned.  She  says  you  went  off  bravely,  among 
such  a  number  of  boys.  I  believe,  dear  Harry,  if  you 
standfast  against  all  that  is  evil,  and  be  strong  for  all  that 
is  good,  you  will  be  a  happy  and  useful  boy.  We  shall 
pray  much  for  you.  I  hope  you  will  do  all  you  can,  to  be 
a  comfort  to  father  and  mother.  Try  in  everything  to  do 
your  very  best— lessons  or  play — and  always  try  to  give 
up  to  others,  and  forget  self.  It  is  so  pleasant  that  we 
know  your  school  with  its  playground,  etc.  Ever,  dear 
Harry,  your  loving  Grandmother, 

A.  S.  Mac  Innes. 

She  writes  later  of  receiving  him  for  his  first 
exeat  at  Hampstead,  October  31,  1874.  'I  wish 
you  could  have  seen  the  joyous  meeting  last  night. 
Seven  struck,  and  then  I  heard  a  quick  step  in  the 
passage,  and  Harry's  dear  rosy  face  appeared  ;  John 
sprang  upon  him.  Neil  and  Campbell  looked 
astonished,  and  then  all  were  closed  in  one 
pyramid  of  boys,  such  a  happy  party !  I  am  sure 
our  hearts  are  united  with  yours,  in  prayer  for  these 


JET. 


Illness  1 3 


dear  ones,  that  they  may  each  be  taught  of  God, 
and  used  to  His  glory.' 

He  found  it  a  very  practical  help,  during  school 
and  sea  life,  to  have  imprinted  on  his  mind  two  or 
three  special  passages  of  Scripture.  As  a  very 
little  boy,  he  took  to  the  idea,  that  by  thoroughly 
mastering  a  passage,  verse  by  verse,  he  would  be 
like  a  mason  building,  brick  by  brick.  This  gave 
zest  to  that  which  so  often  is  only  felt  to  be  a  task, 
and  the  result  was,  that  such  portions  as  Prov.  i., 
and  the  last  four  verses  of  Luke  vi.  &c,  were  his 
possessions  for  life. 

In  April  1875  Harry  was  detained  at  home 
by  a  painful  abscess,  instead  of  going  north,  with 
his  brothers,  for  the  holidays.  His  aunt,  who  was 
absent  from  Hampstead,  wrote  to  him  :  — 

We  are  very  sorry  to  hear  of  your  having  so  much 
pain  with  your  arm,  and  I  long  to  be  at  home  to  come 
and  help  read  to  you,  and  amuse  you,  though  I  dare  say 
you  have  plenty  of  readers  ;  and  I  know  what  a  good 
patient  you  are,  by  experience.  How  glad  any  of  us,  who 
love  you,  would  be,  to  take  a  turn  at  bearing  the  pain  for 
you. 

Sometimes,  when  I  think  how  we  shrink  from  pain  for 
our  bodies,  it  makes  me  long  that  we  dreaded  sin  for  our 
souls  as  much. 

I  do  not  mean  only  the  great  things,  which  everybody 
calls  sin,  but  little  things,  about  which  we  make  excuses 


14  Early  Boyhood  ^et.  12 

to  ourselves,  and  other  people,  but  which  God  calls  sin. 
Such  as  not  being  quite  true  in  all  we  say,  though  we 
would  not  tell  a  downright  lie.  Or  doing  little  selfish 
things,  which  no  one  knows,  perhaps,  but  ourselves. 

When  I  ask  God  to  make  you  better,  I  cannot  help 
asking  Him  to  teach -you,  by  this  pain,  what  He  knows 
you  want  to  learn. 

Another  letter  from  the  same  aunt  reached 
him  in  October  1875.  It  tells  of  a  grievous  sor- 
row, which  had  come  upon  a  family  of  cousins. 

We  should  have  enjoyed  our  home-coming  very 
much,  but  for  the  sad  news  which  came  to  us  at 
Fontainebleau  about  Lowis  Chapman  !  Do  you  remem- 
ber him  ?  He  went  out  last  Monday  week,  in  a  canoe,  to 
go  across  Tor  Bay.  He  left  the  shore  at  ten  o'clock, 
was  seen  at  twelve,  and  again  by  a  gentleman's  yacht, 
with  his  arms  folded,  sailing,  and  looking  very  happy. 

That  is  the  last  that  is  known  of  him  !  The  canoe 
was  washed  ashore  on  Tuesday  morning,  with  his  hand- 
kerchief tied  to  the  seat,  but  at  present  his  body  has  not 
been  found.  It  is  terribly  sad  for  his  father  and  mother, 
who  are  in  India,  and  for  the  many  who  loved  him.  He 
was  nearly  twenty.  One  thing  they  will  hear  among  the 
many  that  will  comfort  them,  is,  that  when  he  was  once 
asked  to  do  something  which  he  knew  his  father  would 
not  approve,  he  said  'Never'  He  loved  his  father,  so  it 
was  not  hard  to  give  up. 

Dear  Harry,  does  not  this  say  to  us  all,  that  we  should 
ask  God  to  make  us  so  to  live  that,  if  He  were  to  call 
us  as  suddenly,  there  might  be  no  recollection  of  us  but 


mt.  13  Naval  Cadet  ship  1 5 

such  as  would  bring  comfort  to  those  who  were  left.  And, 
above  all,  to  look  each  day  to  Jesus,  and  to  thank  Him, 
that  He  died  to  save  us  from  our  sins,  and  to  ask  Him, 
to  keep  us  from  the  sin  which  grieves  Him. 

I  have  thought  so  much  of  this,  that  I  had  almost 
forgotten  to  say  to  you  how  pleased  I  was  about  the  new 
sister  !  (Eva). 

Harry  had  long  wished  to  be  a  sailor,  and  in 
due  course  he  was  nominated  to  a  cadetship  in  the 
Royal  Navy,  chiefly  through  the  influence  of  one 
of  his  father's  oldest  friends,  Dr.  J  ex-  Blake,  Head- 
master of  Rugby.  In  February  1876  he  was  sent 
to  Stubbington,  in  Hampshire,  to  read  for  his 
examination.  There  he  joined  John  Franklin 
Parry,  son  of  another  of  his  father's  old  friends, 
the  Bishop  of  Dover.  The  two  boys  had  much  in 
common,  and  the  friendship  was  of  the  third  gene- 
ration, begun  by  their  grandfathers — Rear- Admiral 
Sir  W.  Edward  Parry  and  General  Mac  Innes. 

On  passing  his  examination  successfully,  Harry 
received  the  following  from  the  Bishop  of  Dover, 
written  with  characteristic  promptness  : — 

Precincts,  Canterbury,  July  1876. 
My  dear  Harry, — I  dare  say  you  have  not  yet  re- 
ceived your  commission,  but  I  do  not  see  why  your  God- 
father should  not  be  beforehand  with  Her  Majesty,  and 
dub  you  'R.N.'  on  the  envelope,  which  accordingly  I 
do  with  no  small  satisfaction.     I  hope  your  successful 


1 6  Early  Boyhood  jet.  13 

passage  through  the  examination  straits  may  be  an  omen 
of  like  success  on  Franklin's  part.  The  best  compliment 
I  can  pay  your  service  is,  that  had  I  not  wished  to  be  a 
clergyman,  I  should  certainly  have  been  a  midshipman. 
I  have  no  fear  but  that  you  will  serve  your  country 
bravely  and  honestly,  if  need  be.  But  in  peace  or  war, 
I  hope  you  will  never  be  ashamed  to  be  found  fighting 
on  the  side  of  Christ,  and  under  His  flag.  Depend  upon 
it,  it  is  the  winning  side.  But  no  battles  can  be  won 
without  some  hard  knocks.  In  my  brother  Charlie's 
life,  you  will  see  what  a  youngster  may  do,  who  is  not 
afraid  of  a  few  such  knocks.  And  my  father's  life  will 
shew  you  as  true  a  picture  as  I  could  draw,  of  the  best 
type  of  a  Christian  officer  and  gentleman,  afloat  and 
ashore. 

Ever  your  aftectionate  Godfather, 

E.  Dover 

One  endeavour  in  Harry's  training,  so  far,  had 
been  to  prepare  him  for  the  '  hard  knocks '  when 
they  should  come — the  moral  '  knocks '  which  all 
boys  must  meet,  more  or  less,  from  the  time  they 
are  first  launched  into  school  life  ;  and  as  '  To  be 
forewarned  is  to  be  forearmed,'  a  habit  of  perfect 
openness  between  the  boy  and  his  father  and  mother 
is  an  absolute  necessity.  Harry's  parents  were 
advised,  when  he  and  his  brothers  and  sisters  were 
very  little,  not  only  (as  had  already  been  the  habit) 
to  lead  them  on  to  tell  in  their  own  words  their 
little  confessions,   wants,  and  desires    to   God    in 


^et.  13  Habit  of  Confidence  1  7 

prayer,  but  to  have  each  child  alone.  Not  an  easy 
matter  when  there  are  several,  but  quite  attain- 
able by  perseverance  ;  for  each  of  the  merry  group 
soon  understands  waiting  his  or  her  turn,  for  the 
few  minutes  alone  with  father  or  with  mother. 
Kneeling  in  prayer  together,  opportunity  con- 
tinually arises  for  strengthening  the  habit  of  open- 
ness about  faults  and  difficulties,  as  well  as  about 
pleasures  and  occupations.  This  habit  also  es- 
tablishes such  confidence  between  each  little  heart 
and  its  parent,  that,  as  time  goes  on,  school-boys 
cling  to  it,  and  expect  it,  and  young  men  thank 
God  for  it. 

At  the  various  stages  of  boyhood,  who  can 
estimate  the  value  of  words  of  loving  warning,  and 
counsel,  spoken  to  the  boy  clearly  and  unmistak- 
ably by  his  father,  who  has  gone  through  all  the 
temptations  and  difficulties  before  him  ?  Con- 
fidence in  his  mother  comes  generally  more  natur- 
ally, and  priceless  to  both  is  this  confidence  for 
life! 

The  first  plunge  into  public  school,  or  training- 
ship  life,  must  surely  be  regarded  by  all  parents  as 
a  crisis  in  a  boy's  history  ;  and  it  is  very  natural 
that  their  hearts  should  shrink  from  the  exposure 
to  greater   temptation.     May  the  word  in  season 

C 


1 8  Early  Boyhood  jet.  13 

spoken   to   Harry's  mother  at  this  time  prove  the 
some  to  the  hearts  of  other  mothers  ! 

If  his  father  were  going  with  him,  to  be  always  ready 
and  at  hand  to  meet  all  difficulties  with  him,  and  advise 
him  at  every  turn,  would  you  have  one  care  about  him? 
How  much  more  will  his  Heavenly  Father  supply  his 
every  need  ?     Cast  your  care  in  every  detail  upon  Him. 


II. 

H.MS.   'BRITANNIA: 

1876-1878. 

1  His  love  for  his  mother  was  strong,  his  veneration  great,— and 
mothers  who  have  really  earned  love  and  veneration  are  very 
seldom  defrauded  of  either.  She  lived  to  see  him  all  she  could 
wish,  and  far  more,  perhaps,  than  she  had  once  hoped.  Time  did 
more  than  justify  the  trust  and  fulfil  the  prediction,  which,  when 
his  self-will  as  a  boy  was  remarked  to  her,  she  expressed  by  saying, 
"  Never  mind  ;  he  is  self-willed  now— you  will  see  it  turn  out  well 
in  the  end."  ' 

Sir  T.  Fowell  Buxton,  Bart.  :  a  Study  for  Young  Men, 
by  Thomas  Binney. 


'  The  first  break  in  a  family  is  a  solemn  and  affecting  era  in  its 
history  ...  the  trial  which  has  come  verily  seems  "strange," 
yet  this  is  under  God  a  holy  and  blessed  education.  Lessons  are 
thus  taught,  though  as  by  fire,  which  train  all  the  scholars  for  a 

higher  school.' 

Reminiscences  of  a  Highland  Parish, 
by  Dr.  Norman  McLeod. 


c  2 


II. 

H.M.S.   'BRITANNIA,'    1876-1878. 

IN  September  1876,  Harry  joined  H.M.S. 
'Britannia'  Training  Ship  at  Dartmouth,  where 
he  passed  the  usual  two  years. 

Where  the  Dart  emerges  from  its  high  wooded 
banks,  and  widens  out  above  the  town  and  harbour, 


H.M.S.  'Britannia'  and  ' Hindcstan.' 

the  ships  lie  moored.  (The  '  Hindostan  '  connected 
with  the  '  Britannia  '  by  a  covered  bridge.)  On  first 
rowing  out,  the  perfect  arrangement  and  order  of 
the  whole  strikes  every  one.  Whether  the  cadets 
are  at  work  on  board,  or  swarming  into  boats,  and 


22  H.M.S.  ' Britannia*  jet.  13 

rowing  ashore  to  the  cricket-fields  on  the  hill 
above,  or  whether,  from  the  lighted  decks  in  the 
evening,  the  merry  voices  of  the  boys  are  heard, 
the  whole  scene  is  a  stirring  and  inspiriting  one. 
Delightful  walks  exploring  the  Devonshire  lanes 
varied  the  daily  routine. 

In  the  following  spring  Harry  wrote  : — 

I  think  I  have  read  out  of  the  '  Daily  Text  Book ' 
every  morning  since  you  sent  it  to  me.  I  like  to  think 
the  others  at  school  are  reading  the  same  every  day.  I 
went  for  a  long  walk  this  afternoon  with  another  boy, 
and  we  found  a  large  adder  curled  up  asleep,  but  it 
glided  quickly  away  as  soon  as  it  saw  us.  I  should 
think  it  must  have  been  quite  two  feet  long.  I  believe 
the  two  Princes  have  had  their  exam,  at  Greenwich  and 
have  both  passed  well.  I  suppose  they  will  come  here 
after  midsummer. 

He  made  pleasant  friendships,  especially  one 
with  Montague  E.  Browning,  which  proved  a 
great  help  to  him  in  the  rougher  time  at  sea.  But 
he  needed  a  deeper  friendship  still,  in  the  strength 
of  which  all  the  difficulties  and  temptations  of  boy- 
life  can  be  met.  The  loving  voice  of  his  Heavenly 
Father  calling  to  him,  '  My  son,  give  me  thine 
heart,'  had  met,  as  yet,  with  no  response  from  the 
eager  boy  in  the  midst  of  his  happy  life.  He  did 
not  then  know  that  there  are  'ways  of  pleasant- 


mr.  13  His  Home  at  Rickerby  23 

ness '  far  exceeding  any  he  had  ever  found  before. 
A  very  few  years  later,  Harry's  great  desire  was 
to  help  other  boys  to  come  definitely  to  the 
Saviour.  For  this  reason,  he  would  try  to  get 
them  to  face  the  sinfulness  of  their  own  hearts. 
Without  a  sense  of  need  there  will  be  no  glad  re- 
sponse to  the  loving  invitation  :  '  Whosoever  will, 
let  him  take  of  the  Water  of  Life  freely.'     Only 


^D 


Rickerby  and  the  River  Eden,  from  Stanwix. 

last  year,  and  shortly  before  he  was  called  away, 
he  said,  with  intense  earnestness,  referring  to  a  boy 
at  school  in  whom  he  was  deeply  interested,  '  I 
am  praying  that  he  may  be  convinced  of  his  need ; 
it  is  conviction  of  sin  that  he  wants.' 

Changes  came  in  Harry's  life  during  his  time 
on  the  'Britannia.'  The  familiar  home  in  Cum- 
berland had  now  become  that  of  his  parents  ;  but 


24  H.M.S.  '  Britannia '  ^et.  14 

before  settling  in  the  north,  the  summer  holidays  of 
1 877  were  spent  in  Switzerland.  Harry's  thought- 
lessness, and  eagerness  to  carry  out  his  own  plans, 
had  continually  to  be  checked,  and  corrected,  and 
caused  much  anxiety  about  him.  But  the  sowing 
went  on,  though  often  in  tears,  for  faith  was  given 
that  the  reaping  would  come  in  joy.  Before  re- 
turning to  Dartmouth  in  September,  he  was  with 
his  beloved  grandmother  for  the  last  time  before 
her  death,  which  occurred  as  autumn  was  passing 
into  winter. 

The  following  Christmas  holidays  the  unbroken 
band  of  children  met  for  the  last  time  ;  for  early 
in  March  1878  Harry  was  spoken  to  by  an  un- 
mistakable voice,  that  of  a  great  personal  sorrow, 
which  left  its  mark  upon  his  life.  His  third  bro- 
ther, Campbell,  a  boy  of  great  promise,  and  as 
vigorous  in  mind  as  in  body,  died  of  scarlet  fever 
at  school,  after  only  three  weeks  of  school-boy  life, 
at  the  age  of  nine  years  and  eleven  months.  His 
mother  took  the  infection  after  two  nights  and  a 
day  at  his  bedside,  and  had  to  leave  her  boy,  a 
week  before  his  death,  not  to  see  him  again  on 
earth. 

Harry's  father,  writing  to  him  from  the  school 
(Sunday,  February  24),  says  : — 

You  will  be  grieved  to  hear  that  our  precious  Camp- 


jet.  14  His  Brother  Campbell  25 

bell  is  very  ill  with  scarlet  fever.  Some  of  the  boys  have 
it  very  slightly,  but  Campbell  has  had  a  terrible  attack, 
and  for  more  than  forty-eight  hours  he  was  uncon- 
scious. 

When  I  went  into  the  room  he  did  not  know  me,  or 
mother  either  who  had  been  nursing  him  all  night,  but 
this  morning  he  seemed  suddenly  to  recover  conscious- 
ness, and  spoke  like  his  own  dear  self.  He  was  brought 
over  to  the  Sick  House  on  Wednesday  night,  and  the 
gardener's  wife,  who  nursed  him,  said  that,  ill  as  he  was, 
he  would  not  get  into  bed  till  he  had  knelt  down  to  pray. 
I  know  you  wil}  pray  for  him  that  if  it  please  God  his 
life  may  be  spared,  but  whether  he  lives  or  not,  that  his 
sins  may  all  be  forgiven  for  our  dear  Saviour's  sake. 

A  week  later  the  end  came,  and  his  father 
again  wrote  to  Harry  : — 

As  long  as  I  live  I  shall  never  forget  the  sweet  loving 
smile  with  which  he  turned  towards  me,  when  I  went 
into  the  room.  He  tried  to  speak,  for  he  knew  me 
perfectly,  but  neither  I  nor  his  attentive  nurses  could 
understand  him.  I  knelt  down  just  before  he  died,  and 
cried  aloud,  '  Lord  Jesus,  receive  his  soul'  He  had  wan- 
dered a  great  deal,  and  talked  in  his  delirium  about  his 
lessons,  and  his  games,  and  the  farm,  and  other  pleasures 
at  home  ;  but  he  never  once  used  a  bad  or  an  impure 
word  in  his  wanderings.  Sometimes  he  repeated  whole 
chapters  of  the  Bible.  When  people  are  wandering,  if 
they  have  ever  used  bad  words,  or  even  if  they  have 
listened  to  others  using  such,  they  will  sometimes  repeat 
them  again.     But  I  love  to  remember  that  my  precious 


26  H.M.S.'  Britannia*  jet.  i4 

Campbell  told  me  in  the  winter,  that  he  had  prayed  to 
God  that  he  might  forget  any  bad  words  lie  had  ever  heard  ; 
and  I  am  sure  his  prayer  was  heard,  and  this  was  the 
answer.  May  our  God  comfort  you  in  this  great  sorrow. 
Above  all,  I  pray  that  you  may  ask  yourself  each  day,  '  am 
I  prepared  to  die  ?  Am  /so  living,  as  I  shall  wish  to  have 
lived,  when  my  last  hour  comes  ? ' 

The  words  which  of  all  others  most  calmed  the 
parents'  sorrow  are  those  of  our  Saviour's  prayer 
in  John  xii.  27,  '  Father,  glorify  Thy  name,'  and 
the  answer  in  verse  28,  *  I  have  glorified  it,  and  will 
glorify  it  again.'  For  such  a  purpose,  and  with 
such  an  end  in  view,  it  is  worth  while  to  suffer 
anguish.  In  Harry's  case,  and  that  of  others,  the 
prayer  was  fully  answered. 

Harry  now  keenly  felt  the  pain  of  separation 
from  home,  and  the  impossibility  of  attending 
his  little  brother's  funeral  at  Stanwix,  near 
Carlisle. 

He  writes  to  his  mother,  who  was  ill  at  Hamp- 
stead  : — 

March  9. — I  like  being  quite  still  and  thinking  about 
him.  I  try  to  go  over  as  much  as  I  can  our  doings  of  last 
holidays.  How  pleased  he  was,  and  proud  about  his 
playbox  at  the  joiner's,  which  he  helped  to  make  during 
the  last  few  days.  I  remember  once  or  twice  when  we 
wanted  to  do  anything,  he  would  say,  '  Would  mother  like 
it? '  and  I  used  to  say  '  Good  Campbell'  (oh  that  I  had 


jET.  14 


Campbell 


27 


not  !),  but  I  am  so  thankful  none  of  our  squabbles  lasted 
long.  I  have  just  remembered  the  two  dormice— how 
fond  he  was  of  them  !  They  must  be  taken  special  care  of 
now. 


Campbell,  alat.  9. 


H.M.S.  '  Britannia?  March  10. — It  is  still  so  stran 


shall  not 


I  cannot  believe  that  when  next  I  go  home  I 
see  dear  Campbell's  beaming  face  again.  It  is  so 
different  to  dearest  Grannie,  for  Campbell  was  only  nine 
years  old,  and  used  to  be  so  active  with  all  of  us.     This 


28  H.MS.1  Britannia '  mt.  i4 

Sunday  is  so  different  to  last,  for  then  I  was  writing  to 
him,  not  knowing  how  much  more  ill  he  had  become. 
How  strange  it  must  be  at  home  without  him  !  I  well 
remember  cutting  his  name  on  a  tree,  and  how  he  used 
to  be  my  '  fag '  in  the  holidays,  and  I  used  to  give  him 
twopence  a  week  ;  and  that  very  day  I  cut  his  initials,  he 
ran  into  the  house  for  my  knife.  You  will  remember  how 
sweet  he  looked  as  the  Queen,  when  we  '  dressed  up,'  one 
wet  day.  As  I  keep  on  thinking  of  these  little  facts,  it 
seems  every  moment  more  impossible  to  believe  that  he 
is  gone,  and  yet  he  is  far  happier  now  than  he  ever  was 
in  his  life. 

The  following  are  a  few  extracts  from  home 
letters  Harry  received  at  this  time.  His  father 
wrote,  the  day  after  the  funeral  : — 

Rickerby  :  March  10. 
Later  yesterday  afternoon  we  again  stood  together  by 
the  grave,  which  Melville  had  covered  very  beautifully 
with  moss,  snowdrops,  and  crocuses.  The  primroses  you 
picked  at  Dartmouth  were  fastened  to  the  coffin,  and 
lowered  with  him  into  the  grave.  My  great  comfort  is, 
that  though  Campbell  often  did  what  was  wrong,  he  was 
always  so  ready  to  confess  his  faults.  Often  he  would 
come  in  the  evening,  and  ask  us  to  forgive  him  for  various 
things,  when  we  had  entirely  forgotten  he  had  been  at 
all  naughty  ;  and,  as  he  was  always  ready  to  confess  to 
his  earthly  parents,  so,  I  believe,  he  confessed  his  sins  to 
our  Father  in  Heaven,  and  obtained  pardon  for  Jesus 
Christ's  sake. 


ALT.    14 


Letters  29 


Oh,  my  boy,  I  pray  that  this  death  of  your  darling 
little  brother  may  be  blessed  indeed  to  your  soul,  and  to 
my  soul,  and  to  every  one  of  us. 

Our  hearts  are  together  to-day,  though  we  are  so  far 
apart,  and  he  is  '  with  Jesus]  as  the  plate  on  the  coffin  says. 
I  believe  that  Jesus  is  indeed  with  us,  with  all  of  us,  to-day, 
and  then  we  are  not  far  divided.  And  to  whichever  of 
us  God  gives  long  life,  or  short  life,  it  will  matter  very 
little,  when  we  all  gather  together  in  His  presence.  For 
He  will  send  for  us  at  the  very  best  time  for  us,  and  the 
very  best  time,  too,  for  those  left  behind. 

Campbell  was  so  happy  and  so  joyous  here,  we  can- 
not understand  now,  how  he  can  be  more  joyous  with 
Jesus  ;  and  yet,  just  as  however  happy  a  boy's  school  life 
may  be,  you  could  not  imagine  the  one  who  said  he  was 
too  happy  to  wish  to  go  home  for  the  holidays,  so  it 
must  be  for  all  who  belong  to  Jesus,  and  the  great 
thing  for  each  one  is  to  make  sure  that  we  do  belong  to 
Him. 

In  1884  a  friend  wrote  after  Harry's  death  : — 

It  is  difficult  to  realise  that  the  happy,  good-natured 
boy  I  remember,  when  home  for  his  holidays  at  Hamp- 
stead,  should  have  grown  up  and  passed  away,  as  well  as 
his  dear  little  brother,  to  his  last  home.  Campbell  little 
thought  of  what  the  future  might  bring,  when  telling  me 
about  Rickerby  and  his  future  plans.  I  said,  '  Yes,  if  you 
live,'  and  I  can  see  him  now,  so  full  of  life  and  happiness, 
saying  '  Live  !  of  course  I  shall  live  ! ' 


3Q  H.M.S.  'Britannia 


M 


To  Harry  from  his  father  at  Rickerby  : — 

We  went  down  by  the  beck  and  picked  up  one  of  those 
broken  Gyro  pigeons,  which  reminded  us  how  happy 
Campbell  was,  over  your  first  shooting  !  His  books  came 
from  school  yesterday.  His  little  account  book  so  care- 
fully kept  (the  valentines  he  had  bought),  and  the  last 
thing  he  had  entered.  Eva  still  looks  sad,  and  says 
'  Campbell  ill,'  but  we  try  to  explain  to  her  he  is  quite 
well  now,  and  will  never  be  ill  again.  .  .  . 

Hampstead. — I  do  love  to  think  of  his  very  happy 
life  !  We  often  talk  of  the  time  abroad.  How  he  en- 
joyed it  all  !  Especially  the  bathes  in  the  streams.  Do 
you  remember  his  dashing  out  of  the  pool  (on  our  way 
down  from  the  glacier  at  Grindelwald),  shouting  '  Apollo  ! 
Apollo  ! '  and  how  he  flew  after  the  beautiful  butterfly  and 
caught  it? 

Harry  writes  on  March  3 1  (to  his  mother)  : — 

H.M.S.  'Britannia: — I  really  do  think  that  I  am 
getting  the  help  that  I  have  asked  for  since  I  came  back 
.here.  I  have  only  had  one  *  punishment,'  and  that  was  for 
not  paying  attention  at  Euclid.  There  are  so  many  little 
things  that  I  have  to  look  out  for,  and  pray  to  be  kept 
from. 

May  12. — I  like  telling  you  exactly  what  I  feel,  be- 
cause I  know  you  are  thinking  of  me  so  much,  and  it 
makes  me  feel  just  as  if  I  were  quite  near  you,  and  speak- 
ing to  you.  I  know  you  are  praying  so  often  about  us 
all  here.  It  is  so  nice  having  somebody  like  Browning  to 
talk  to.     I  showed  him  the  locket— (containing  his  little 


JET. 


Letters  31 


brother's  photo  and  hair).  I  like  having  it  always  about 
me.  I  am  very  glad  you  sent  me  his  photo  for  my  Bible  ; 
I  will  put  it  in  as  soon  as  I  can.  I  am  sure  you  pray 
that  I  may  be  kept  from  temptation,  for  it  does  seem 
hard  here,  and  at  home  it  was  so  easy  to  be  good.  I  do 
think  so  much  of  you  all ;  how  sweet  Eva  must  be  with 
her  little  talk  !  Do  please  remember  about  the  squirrels, 
and  let  them  be  some  one's  special  charge. 

In  another  letter  about  this  date  he  spoke,  for 
the  first  time,  of  a  sense  of  unfitness  for  death 
and  eternity — which  letter,  alas,  cannot  be  found. 
The  following  is  in  answer  to  it : — 

Your  dear  letter  has  made  us  very  glad  and  thankful. 
For  nothing  have  we  prayed  for  so  much  as  that  every 
one  of  you  might  learn  your  need  of  Jesus  as  your  Saviour 
while  you  are  still  young.  I  understand  exactly  all  you 
say,  and  the  difficulties  you  feel.  The  Holy  Spirit  has 
begun  to  open  the  shutters  of  your  heart.  By  nature, 
our  hearts  are  all  dark,  like  a  room  with  the  shutters 
tightly  shut.  Satan,  our  enemy,  does  everything  he  can 
to  keep  them  shut.  He  makes  us  think  of  all  kinds  of 
excuses  for  not  asking  that  the  shutters  may  be  opened  ; 
and  he  lights  up  the  heart  with  a  false  light  of  his  own, 
to  make  us  think  we  are  all  right.  But  now  the  Holy 
Spirit  Who  always  sees  into  every  corner  of  our  dark 
hearts  (through  the  shutters)  has  seen,  that  since  darling 
Campbell's  death,  you  have  thought  about  your  soul,  and 
knows  that  you  are  asking  yourself  whether  you  would  be 
ready  to  die  any  day  or  hour,  if  God  called  you.     So  He 


32  H.M.S.  l Britannia  m.  14 

has  opened  a  little  bit  of  the  shutters,  and  has  let  in  a 
little  light,  for  you  to  see  that  you  are  not  right  within. 
Listen  to  the  voice  of  conscience,  which  warns  you  of 
any  special  sins,  such  as  not  obeying  rules,  doing  things 
behind  the  Instructor's  back  that  you  would  not  do  before 
his  face  ;  joining  in,  or  listening  to,  any  talk  that  we 
should  not  like,  or  being  idle  at  your  work,  etc.  We 
have  proofs  that  Campbell  listened  to  the  voice  of  con- 
science ;  he  seemed  so  anxious  not  to  grieve  us.  Once 
or  twice  at  the  singing  lessons  at  home,  when  he  went 
out  of  the  room,  and  was  followed,  he  said, '  Well,  I  know 
I  should  get  in  a  wax  if  I  stayed,  and  mother  would  not 
like  me  to  get  in  a  wax.'  Think  of  the  times  when  (by 
your  own  confession)  you  took  the  wrong  side.  When 
your  little  brother  took  the  right  side  you  called  him 
'good.'  .  .  .  The  hymn  you  have  all  learned,  'Just  as  I 
am,'  will  help  you.  Say  it  over  very  often.  We  wish  to 
help  you  in  all  your  difficulties,  for  we  have  had  just 
the  same  ourselves.  Remember  the  first  thing  is,  instant 
confession  of  sin.  Tell  God  everything,  and,  whenever 
you  can,  tell  me  of  any  wrong  things  your  conscience 
tells  you  you  have  done. 

Later  on,  in  the  following  letter,  Harry  de- 
scribes one  of  the  pleasant  varieties  of  '  Britannia ' 
life:— 

June  2. — Last  evening  I  went  to  tea  with  the  Captain 
at  eight  o'clock,  with  Browning  and  about  six  other 
fellows.  The  two  Princes  also  came,  and  it  was  just  like 
last  time.  After  tea  we  played  again  with  little  ships 
and  taking  each  other  ;   we  had  to  see  who  could  get 


alt.  15  '  The  Lessons'  33 

into  each  other's  ports  first.  The  Captain  and  Mrs. 
Fairfax  are  awfully  kind.  They  showed  us  a  lot  of 
photographs,  which  Mrs.  Fairfax  had  taken,  out  in  Brazil. 
I  think  it  was  when  the  Captain  took  some  people  to 
observe  the  'Transit  of  Venus,' or  something  like  that. 
We  did  not  come  away  till  after  ten.  I  have  just  come 
out  of  church.  Mr.  Aldous  preached  ;  it  was  a  very  good 
sermon.  The  text  was  Ephesians  vi.  and  first  verse.  His 
sermon  was  all  about  obeying,  that  '  as  we  always  liked 
to  obey  our  parents,  and  follow  in  their  ways,  how  much 
more  ought  we  to  obey  God.'  I  liked  it  very  much,  and 
I  listened  to  the  Lessons,  which  you  told  me  about  in  your 
letter.  We  have  heard  that  the  Admiralty  have  bought 
a  schooner  yacht  for  us  to  go  out  in,  and  I  believe  she 
is  coming  down  soon.  It  will  be  very  jolly  !  but  we  have 
not  heard  for  certain  yet.  We  have  begun  to  go  to  the 
1  Dapper '  now  every  other  morning  before  breakfast. 

(The  cadets  were  drilled  on  the  yards  of  the 
gunboat  '  Dapper,'  each  having  his  appointed  place 
for  a  certain  time,  and  then  changing.) 

Referring  to  Harry's  mention  of  the  '  Lessons ' 
in  the  Church  Service,  he  often  found  it  a  help  to 
receive,  in  time  for  Sunday,  a  few  words  of  com- 
ment on  the  lessons  for  the  day,  drawing  his 
attention  to  particular  points,  and  preparing  him 
to  listen  with  interest  for  what  was  coming  in  the 
service  :  as  also  simple  thoughts  on  the  beautiful 
Collects,  applying  them  to  personal  needs. 

Soon  came  the  end  of  Harry's  last  term.     On 

D 


H.M.S.  'Britannia 


JET.   15 


the  26th  of  July,  H.R.H.  the  Princess  of  Wales  dis- 
tributed prizes  to  those  of  the  departing  cadets 
who  had  been  successful  in  the  final  examinations. 
Harry  received  two — one  for  English  History 
Essay,  and  the  other  for  Drawing.  His  home- 
coming was  specially  delightful,  bringing,  as  he 
did,  these  proofs  of  good  and  diligent  work,  show- 
ing that  he  had  striven  to  conquer  inattention 
and  carelessness  ;  and  had  therefore  fulfilled  the 
wish  so  often  expressed  in  his  letters  to  '  do  well ' 
and  '  work  hard.' 

A  short  three  weeks  of  home-life  ;  then  came 
the  telegram  summoning  him  to  join  H.M.S. 
1  Euryalus  '  at  Portsmouth,  for  passage  with  other 
cadets  to  the  Mediterranean.  It  seemed  impos- 
sible to  part  with  him  :  his  high  spirits  and  fun 
made  him  as  usual  the  life  of  everything  ;  and 
hearts,  already  sore  with  the  wrench  of  his  brother 
Campbell's  death,  shrank  from  the  thought  of 
missing  him  also,  at  every  turn.  But,  thank  God, 
faith  and  courage  were  renewed  with  the  convic- 
tion that  nothing  could  brace  and  strengthen  his 
character  nearly  so  well  as  the  life  before  him  ; 
and  above  all,  that  it  had  been  ordered  for  him 
by  One  who  never  makes  a  mistake. 


III. 

AT    SEA. 

1878-1879. 

The  pilot  best  of  winds  does  talk, 

The  peasant  of  his  cattle  ; 
The  shepherd  of  his  fleecy  flock, 

The  soldier  of  his  battle.' — Ariosto. 


NOT    DRIFTING;    PILOTED. 

At  noontide,  on  a  sunny  sea, 
Serene  and  open,  bright  and  free. 

Small  choice  to  us  in  near  or  far, 
Heaven  and  home  where'er  we  are. 

A  Hand  !  firm  guiding  through  the  sea  ; 
A  Face  !  a  Face  !  regarding  me. 

Guiding,  regarding,  all  the  while 
Commanding  Hand  !     Most  pitying  smile  ! 

Not  drifting  !  steered  for  evermore 
By  wisest  tracks  that  ocean  o'er.' 

By  the  Author  of  Chronicles  of  ike 
Schbnbcrg-Cotta  Fatally. 


III. 

AT   SEA,    1878-1879. 

THE  following   are  extracts  from   Harry's    letters 
during  his  first  year  at  sea  :  — 

August  28,  1878.-H.M.S.  'Euryalus' 
(Nearing  Gibraltar.) 

Dearest  Mother,— I  am  very  sorry  I  have  not  begun  a 
letter  before.  I  have  been  thinking  of  you  all  so  much, 
but  have  been  too  miserable  with  sickness  often,  and  then 
we  have  very  little  time  to  ourselves.  It  was  a  great 
help  to  me  having  your  letter  to  open  after  we  started. 
I  forgot  it  till  Sunday,  but  it  was  all  the  more  welcome, 
then.  I  did  so  like  the  texts  too.  All  the  twenty-four 
hours  are  divided  into  watches— I  have  one  watch  every 
day  and  night  in  turn.  There  is  time  to  manage  reading 
a  little  of  the  Union  Chapter  every  morning  when  we 
turn  out.  Then  we  have  all  to  go  over  the  masthead — 
I  like  that.     It  is  awfully  good  exercise. 

30///. — We  are  just  in  the  Straits,  and  we  can  see 
land  very  distinctly  on  each  side  ;  I  believe  we  shall  get 
to  Gibraltar  about  six  o'clock.  The  sails  have  just  been 
taken  in,  and  we  are  going  to  steam  the  rest  of  the  way. 
Now  passing  Tarifa  town  on  the  European  side,  situ- 
ated very  low,  right  down  to  the  shore — Gibraltar  just  in 
sight  !  It  is  a  splendidly  high  rock,  just  like  an  island  ; 
you  carJ  barely  see  that  it  is  connected  with  the  mainland. 


At  Sea  ^et.  15 


A  marine  is  soon  going  ashore  with  the  mail  bag,  for 
we  are  just  going  to  let  go  the  anchor.  The  rock  is 
grand  ! 

31st.  8  p.m.  {Gibraltar). — Just  come  off  from  the 
shore.  Browning  and  I  landed  together  this  morning. 
We  walked  about  the  public  gardens,  and  saw  all  sorts 
of  curious  plants,  prickly  pears,  aloes,  etc.  Then  towards 
the  town,  which  was  awfully  strange  and  amusing.  Shops 
and  people  seem  to  be  nearly  all  Spanish.  Some  old 
Moors  in  their  curious  dress  were  looking  about  the 
shops,  etc.  The  market  filled  with  all  sorts  of  people — 
the  fruit  so  cheap,  you  could  get  heaps  of  grapes  for  3//., 
several  pomegranates,  prickly  pears,  and  great  big  sweet 
melons  for  2d.  ;  peaches  about  twenty  a  penny.  Then 
up  the  rock,  and  into  the  galleries  ;  we  saw  all  the 
batteries  and  guns  ;  there  was  a  splendid  view.  The 
neutral  ground  could  be  clearly  seen — the  English  sen- 
tinels on  their  ground,  and  then  beyond  the  open  space 
the  Spanish  sentinels  on  theirs.  I  believe  we  sail  very 
early  to-morrow.  .  .  . 

September  4. — At  sea  again.  We  have  been  seeing  a 
good  deal  of  the  African  coast,  and  are  now  well  into  the 
Mediterranean.  On  Monday  there  were  'general  quar- 
ters '  ;  engines  were  stopped  for  about  three  hours,  and 
then  two  targets  were  laid  out  to  fire  at.  The  guns  made 
an  awful  row.  We  were  all  stationed  at  different  guns,  and 
I  was  able  to  see  how  it  was  all  done.  We  had  gun-drill 
yesterday,  and  have  begun  to  keep  our  log-books.  I 
have  been  constantly  thinking  of  you  all  ;  it  does  seem 
so  curious  not  to  hear  of  you,  and  to  think  what  a  long 
way  off  I  am  !     Last  Sunday  we  had    service   on   the 


^et.  is  Malta  39 

main-deck  from  10.30  to  11.30.  Two  electric  broadsides 
were  fired  last  evening  about  eight. 

September  7. — .  .  .  We  have  had  cutlass  and  rifle 
drill  on  the  upper  deck,  and  then  two  more  targets  were 
laid  out  and  we  steamed  round  them,  firing  shell  and 
exploding  shot  at  them  ;  one  was  blown  all  to  pieces. 
There  were  about  six  broadsides,  two  by  electricity,  and 
the  others  by  fusees. 

Malta,  H. M.S.  ' Hibernia'  {Guard  Ship),  Septem- 
ber n. — I  did  so  like  all  your  letters,  which  I  got  soon 
after  we  came  in.  Thank  Dora  very  much  for  her  letter. 
I  have  just  been  ashore  with  Browning  ;  we  can  often 
get  leave,  as  there  is  no  duty  to  do  on  board  here.  We 
take  a  boat  and  bathe  from  it  in  a  Bay  near  ;  the  water 
is  awfully  warm  and  jolly.  The  side  streets  in  Valetta 
are  most  of  them  in  steps,  and  the  principal  streets  very 
steep. 

The  Maltese  are  first-rate  swimmers  and  divers  ; 
they  will  even  dive  for  a  threepence  or  sixpence  if  you 
throw  it  in  to  them.  When  the  '  Euryalus  '  came  in,  a 
lot  of  little  boats  swarmed  round  her  with  boys  and  men 
nearly  naked,  ready  to  dive  for  money.  They  do  it 
splendidly,  calling  out  '  Heave  something,  Sar  ! '  '  I  dive, 
Sar  ! '  and  one  of  them  went  right  under  the  ship's  bot- 
tom for  a  shilling. 

H.M.S.  '  Wye]  September  16. — We  all  came  onboard 
this  a.m.  ;  it  is  an  awfully  small  ship.  Your  letters  came 
in  by  the  mail  just  now — so  glad  of  them  ;  it  was  lucky  I 
got  them.  .  .  . 

H.M.S.  '  Wye]  September  22. — Just  in  the  entrance 
to  the  Dardanelles  (see  sketch),  and  hoping  to  get  to  Gal- 
lipoli  this  p.m.     Leaving  Malta  on  Monday,  we  reached 


4Q 


At  Sea 


JET.   15 


Suda  Bay,  Crete,  on  Wednesday  evening,  and  stayed  there 
till  next  morning.  Most  of  the  Turkish  fleet  were  there, 
for  there  are  Greek  insurgents  still  fighting  in  Crete.  I 
saw  the  place  where  there  had  been  fighting  a  few  weeks 
ago.  Then  we  went  on  to  Besika  Bay,  as  the  '  Invincible  ' 
is  now  at  Prince's  Islands,  near  Constantinople. 

It  has  been  awfully  interesting  seeing  all  these  places  ; 
we  have  just  been  passing  the  Turkish  forts  on  each 
side  of  the  Dardanelles.  We  are  having  such  splendid 
weather,  although  it  is  very  hot. 


Entrance  to  the  Dai'danelles.     (Sketch  by  H.  M.  I.) 

H.M.S.  '  Invincible]  Prinkipo,  September  24. — Brown- 
ing and  I  came  on  board  here  this  p.m.  Prinkipo  is  one 
of  Prince's  Islands.  I  like  the  look  of  the  ship  very 
much.  I  got  all  your  welcome  letters  directly  I  came 
on  board. 

2W1. — drowning  and  I  got  leave  on  Wednesday  to 
go  to  Constantinople — nine  miles  by  sea.  We  went  in 
the  gunboat  '  Cygnet,'  which  goes  there  and  back  every 
day  ;  some  other  fellows  went  too.  We  landed  at  1 1 
a.m.  and  went  by  a  sort  of  tram  to  the  upper  part  of 
the  city.  Later  we  got  horses  and  rode  some  way  out- 
side the  walls.     The  country  all  round  very  hilly  0'id 


Jet.  is  H. M.S.  ' Invincible*  41 

rough.  The  streets  in  Constantinople  are  very  bad,  and 
there  were  any  amount  of  dogs  lying  about.  Most  of 
the  streets  were  tremendously  crowded  with  all  sorts  of 
people.  The  women  were  dressed  very  curiously.  Their 
faces  all  covered  up  except  their  eyes  and  noses.  We 
saw  the  Sultan's  Palace  down  by  the  sea. 

Artaki  Bay  :  October  3. 
Dear  Neil, — I  have  liked  your  letters  to  me  at  differ- 
ent times  very  much,  and  also  John's,  and  thought  of  you 
both  going  back  to  school.  I  have  liked  to  hear  of  your 
doings — so  glad  you  have  been  getting  a  good  many 
butterflies.  When  I  was  ashore  at  Prinkipo,  I  saw  some 
swallow-tails,  but  did  not  catch  any.  ...  I  am  junior 
officer  in  the  ship;  our  gun-room  is  on  the  main  deck, 
and  a  very  nice  one.  Our  hammocks  are  slung  just 
outside  it,  while  our  chests  are  on  the  deck  below.  The 
'  Invincible  '  has  two  batteries— amid-ships  three  12-ton 
guns  on  each  side  in  the  lower  battery  on  the  main 
deck,  and  two  on  each  side  in  upper  battery  on  the  upper 
deck.  She  has  no  poop,  but  a  sort  of  half-deck  called 
the  spar-deck  above  the  upper  deck.  ...  I  generally 
bathe  every  morning  off  the  ship  before  breakfast.  I 
hope  I  shall  be  able  to  go  ashore  soon,  as  I  hear  there  is 
good  quail  shooting.  We  have  been  having  evolutions 
to-day,  and  sail-drill  too. 

Your  loving  brother, 

Harry. 

October  8. — Artaki  is  a  peninsula  on  the  southern 
shore  of  the  sea  of  Marmora.  There  are  lots  of  small 
islands  about.  We  midshipmen  are  not  allowed  on 
shore  without  a  Ward  Room  officer,  as  the  Circassians 


42  At  Sea 


have  been  having  some  rows  lately,  and  the  Turks  do  not 
think  much  of  firing  on  you — everybody  has  to  go  ashore 
armed.  Artaki  Bay  is  very  jolly.  The  other  day  a 
party  of  us,  with  a  lieutenant,  went  to  see  the  ruins  of 
the  ancient  Greek  Amphitheatre  at  Cyzicus — I  believe  it 
was  where  the  Argonauts  landed.  There  are  any  amount 
of  vineyards  ashore;  the  Greeks  do  not  mind  your  taking 
grapes.  The  lieutenant  in  whose  watch  I  am  is  awfully 
jolly  ;  he  took  me  with  him  yesterday  to  an  island  about 
twelve  miles  off,  to  shoot  partridges — we  only  got  five  ; 
we  wanted  a  dog  very  much,  but  I  enjoyed  the  day  ex- 
tremely. I  have  sent  Grace  some  Maltese  lace  in  a  box 
which  a  fellow  is  sending  to  England.     I  hope  she  will 

like  it. 

October  20. 

Dearest  Father, — Will  you  send  me  a  cartridge  loader, 
with  a  good  many  more  empty  cases,  as  I  can  easily  load 
them  here  ?  Also  plenty  of  powder  and  shot,  and  wads  ; 
we  cannot  get  anything  of  the  sort  out  here.  Most  of 
the  chaps  load  their  cartridges,  but  there  is  not  a  16-bore 
loader  here.  .  .  .  The  other  day  I  shot  a  hawk.  We 
passed  some  Circassians— awfully  cut-throat-looking  sort 
of  chaps — on  horses,  with  great  long  guns.  We  also  saw 
some  of  the  Bulgarians  who  have  fled  over  here  ;  they 
were  dressed  in  rough  sheep-skins,  and  looked  very  un- 
civilised. All  the  natives  carry  long  knives  at  the  waist, 
and  wear  a  baggy  sort  of  short  trousers.  All  along  the 
street  of  Artaki,  by  the  shore,  Greeks  and  Turks  sit  cross- 
legged  under  the  trees  drinking  coffee — they  sit  there 
most  of  the  day.  There  are  fellows  bargaining  and  sell- 
ing in  the  streets,  and  the  corn  is  spread  out  on  mats  to 
be  dried  in  the  sun. 


jet.  15  Rotctine  43 

I  am  writing  in  the  gun-room  after  lunch.  It  is  awfully 
hot  still,  but  is  quite  cool  in  the  gun-room.  There 
are  about  sixteen  in  the  mess  now  :  two  sub-lieutenants, 
about  ten  midshipmen,  and  two  assistant-clerks.  I  will 
tell  you  the  routine  of  our  day.  We  turn  out  at  6.30, 
and  as  soon  as  we  are  dressed  have  cutlass  or  rifle  drill 
on  the  upper  deck  till  breakfast  at  eight.  Then  at  8.15 
we  go  to  our  .  gun-quarters,  and  see  that  the  guns  are 
cleaned  properly.  Then  they  have  to  be  reported  to  the 
gunnery-lieutenant.  At  9.30  there  are  divisions  :  all  the 
men  are  mustered  on  the  upper  deck;  we  all  have  a  separate 
division,  and  have  to  muster  them  by  name.  Then  the 
lieutenant  inspects,  and  sees  that  all  are  properly  dressed. 
Directly  after  that,  prayers  are  read  (on  the  upper  deck), 
then  we  go  to  school  till  11.30,  then  lunch  at  12.  In 
the  afternoon,  gunnery,  general  quarters,  school  or  sea- 
manship, except  on  Saturday,  when  we  have  all  the  day 
to  ourselves.  We  keep  our  watch  two  days  on,  and  two 
days  off.  When  you  keep  watch  on  deck,  you  have  to 
take  any  orders  from  the  officer  of  the  watch,  see  the 
deck  is  swept,  and  that  the  boats  are  manned,  when  sent 
away,  etc. 

The  watches  are  : — 


From  12  A.M.  to  4  A.M.    . 

,,  4  A.M.  to  8.3O  A.M. 

,,        8.30  a.m.  to  12  noon 
,,         12  noon  to  4  p.m. 

,,  4  P.M.   to  6  P.M.      . 

,,  6  P.M.  to  8  P.M.     . 

8  P.M.   to  12  A.M. 


Middle  watch 
Morning  watch 
Forenoon  watch 
Afternoon  watch 
First  dog  watch 
Second  dog  watch 
First  watch 


October  28. —  .  .  .  The  other  day,  on  the  way  to  a 
place  called  Pandemia,  we  met  two  caravans  of  camels, 


44  At  Sea  ^t.  15 

about  twenty  in  a  caravan,  all  loaded  with  grain,  a  big 
male  camel  at  the  head  of  each  caravan,  and  little  camels 
following  like  foals.  .  .  . 

The  letters  were  welcome  the  other  day,  and  I  liked 
hearing  of  Neil  and  John  being  at  Hampstead.  It  must 
have  been  strange  seeing  dear  old  West  Heath  again.  I 
shall  never  forget  all  our  happy  times  there,  in  the  garden, 
etc.  I  remember  in  our  races  how  dearest  Campbell  en- 
joyed the  running,  and  went  in  for  it  ;  and  then  climbing 
on  the  gate  posts.  I  have  such  happy  remembrances  of 
him  often.  I  like  thinking  over  all  his  doings  ;  and  then 
again  it  does  seem  all  so  strange,  and  such  a  little  while 
ago,  everything  was  so  different.  This  time  last  year 
dearest  Granny  wTas  only  rather  poorly  !  What  has  hap- 
pened since  then  ! 

Artaki  Bay,  November  10. — Yesterday  morning  I 
went  for  a  paper  chase  on  horseback  ;  we  all  got  horses, 
and  started  about  ten.  The  hares  had  a  quarter  of  an 
hour's  start  of  us  ;  it  was  great  fun.  I  had  a  very  good 
horse  to  go,  but  he  would  not  jump  at  all.  The  end  was 
fixed  at  a  village,  Gudjuik,  about  eight  miles  off,  and  the 
'  Agincourt '  provided  a  lunch,  which  was  taken  round  in 
a  steam  pinnace.  The  Admiral  was  there,  and  nearly  all 
the  captains.  We  were  surrounded  by  the  villagers  at 
lunch  ;  there  was  quite  a  crowd  watching  us.  I  have  now 
and  then  dined  in  the  Ward  Room  ;  the  officers  often  ask 
us.  It  is  awfully  hard  to  keep  from  taking  wine,  etc.,  as, 
wherever  you  go,  you  are  always  asked  to  take  some- 
thing. Whenever  I  go  on  board  any  ship  they  want  you 
to  have  something,  and  are  always  surprised  if  you  refuse. 
There  was  another  paper  chase  to-day,  but  I  did  not  go 
to  it. 


mt,  15  Moral  Courage  45 

The  great  danger  to  which  many  boys  and 
young  men  are  exposed  from  the  habit  of  treating 
thus  described  was  not  so  dangerous  to  Harry, 
as  he  had  always  been  an  abstainer  in  practice, 
though  not  at  this  time  under  any  pledge  ;  but 
after  his  return  home,  he  took  the  pledge  for  the 
sake  of  some  boys  in  whom  he  was  much  in- 
terested, and  for  the  same  reason  he  put  on  the 
1  blue  ribbon.' 

The  following  is  a  reminiscence  sent  by  a  mess- 
mate, referring  to  this  subject : — 

I  know  you  will  like  to  hear  something  he  would  not 
have  told  you  himself,  as  it  illustrates  his  firmness  and 
constancy  so  well,  that  it  made  a  great  impression  upon 
me  at  the  time,  and  I  have  never  forgotten  it.  One 
evening  on  board  the  '  Invincible '  it  happened  to  be 
some  one's  birthday,  and  as  is  sometimes  done  in  the 
service,  champagne  .was  handed  round  for  every  one  to 
drink  his  health.  Poor  Harry  was  evidently  very  dis- 
tressed at  not  being  able  to  do  this,  as  he  thought  it  might 
appear  rude  ;  and  when  the  mid,  w'hose  birthday  it  was, 
said  that  he  hoped  he  would  drink  his  health,  he  told  him 
that  he  could  not  do  so  in  wine.  The  mid  rather  pressed 
him  to  take  some,  but  Harry  told  him  quietly  that  he  had 
promised  his  father  and  mother  that  he  would  not  touch 
any  wine,  and  therefore  that  it  was  out  of  his  power  to 
do  so,  but  that  he  wished  him  every  happiness  notwith- 
standing. Harry  did  this  in  such  a  firm,  pleasant  manner, 
that  everything  was  made  all  right. 


46  At  Sea  at.  15 

November  24. — I  got  the  box  all  right  yesterday 
afternoon.  It  came  by  the  '  Achilles.'  I  got  ten  books, 
they  are  very  nice  ;  I  have  lent  some  already,  they 
were  all  anxious  to  have  them.  I  shall  like  to  get 
the  photos  of  the  dear  room — (where  his  little  brother 
died). 

I  do  so  well  remember  darling  Campbell  last  Christ- 
mas Day,  and  all  through  those  holidays,  and  shall  long 
to  be  with  you.  How  near  it  is  getting  !  On  Friday  we 
went  out  for  the  whole  day  prize  firing ;  there  is  always 
a  prize  given  to  each  ship  every  year.  Having  got  out 
some  way,  two  targets  were  dropped,  which  we  then 
steamed  round.  In  the  afternoon  there  was  practising 
with  the  torpedoes,  the  'Fish'  and  the  'Harvey.'  A 
cutter  was  lowered  and  the  Fish  torpedo  (a  dummy)  was 
fired  at  it  twice.  It  went  right  under  the  boat,  which  was 
a  very  good  shot.  Then  we  exercised  with  the  '  Harvey.' 
It  is  towed  by  a  long  line  from  a  yard-arm,  as  the  dredge 
is,  but,  easing  the  line,  it  dips  under  the  water,  as  the  ship 
runs  close  up  to  the  other  it  gets  under  the  bottom  and 
blows  up.  The  target  was  twice  hit,  at  about  1500  yards 
distance. 

It  was  rather  cold  a  little  while  ago,  but  is  quite  warm 
again  now.  We  never  have  to  keep  the  night-watch 
strictly  in  harbour.  If  I  have  from  twelve  to  four  at 
night,  I  only  turn  out  once  every  hour  to  go  the  rounds 
and  see  all  is  correct,  and  report  it  to  the  officer  of  the 
watch.  I  always  read  about  twelve  verses  of  the  daily 
chapter  as  soon  as  I  am  dressed  in  the  morning.  I  am 
so  glad  to  think  we  are  all  reading  the  same  chapter.  I 
can  easily  fancy  you  at  your  Bible  reading  in  the  morn- 
ings.    I  wish  you  would  send  me  the  '  Monthly  Notes,' 


JET.    15 


Ashore  47 


as  I  should  like  to  know  what  the  chosen  text  is  every 
day.  Yesterday,  when  ashore  with  the  Chaplain,  we 
found  our  way  to  the  Bishop's  house,  to  pay  him  a  visit. 
He  was  sitting  on  a  divan  in  his  room,  and  had  brought 
in  for  us  some  sort  of  cherry  syrup,  and  Turkish  coffee, 
which  was  very  good.  He  could  speak  French  very  well, 
was  very  cheerful,  and  told  the  Chaplain  about  the  Greek 
Church. 

The  Admiral  and  his  flag-lieutenant  were  hares  in  a 
paper  chase  the  other  day.  I  like  this  place  very  much, 
there  is  always  something  to  do  ashore.  I  ride  a  good 
deal  now  when  I  can,  but  the  horses  are  getting  rather 
done  up  by  always  being  ridden,  for  we  always  ride 
across  country,  jumping,  etc. 

H.M.S.  'Invincible,' December  8. 
Dearest  Rennie, — I  thank  you  so  much  for  your 
letter,  which  I  got  with  father's  yesterday  morning.  I  did 
so  like  your  nice  letter  about  going  down  the  river  in  the 
Rickerby  boat.  I  am  glad  Polly  can  bark  now  like  '  Mops ' ; 
you  must  teach  him  a  lot  of  things.  I  wonder  how  the 
squirrels  are  getting  on.  Do  you  think  they  are  getting 
at  all  tame  ?  How  you  will  like  going  to  Fern  Lodge 
with  father  and  mother  !  I  suppose  you  will  see  Neil  and 
John  soon  now.  I  wish  you  could  see  all  the  strange 
things  here.  We  often  see  camels  ashore,  a  lot  together 
sometimes.  The  houses  are  very  curious,  and  the  shops 
too— you  see  the  shopman  sitting  cross-legged  on  a  low 
floor,  selling  things.  There  are  some  skin  shops  here 
with  all  sorts  of  skins  of  animals.  I  bought  a  very  nice 
fox's  skin  the  other  day.  I  shall  think  of  you  all  together 
again  at  Christmas      I  wonder  if  you  have  been  riding 


48  At  Sea  jet.  15 

1  Cherry  '  lately.     Give  my  dearest  love  to  all.     I  remain 
your  loving  brother, 

Harry. 

Besika  Bay,  December  22. — We  have  come  here  to 
exchange  with  the  'Pallas.'  It  was  awfully  jolly  going 
down  the  Dardanelles,  seeing  the  scenery  on  both  sides. 
We  stopped  at  Chanak  for  a  pass,  which  must  always  be 
got  in  going  through  the  Dardanelles.  On  both  sides  at 
Chanak  there  are  great  fortifications,  a  40-ton  gun  on  each 
side  ;  there  is  a  good  big  Turkish  garrison  there.  You 
know  we  are  very  near  Troy  ;  the  Plains  of  Troy,  where 
old  Troy  was,  are  quite  near.  We  are  going  to  get  up 
some  football  here,  which  will  be  very  jolly.  The  fleet 
when  they  were  here  had  some  hounds  ;  they  are  still  here, 
and  I  think  we  shall  go  out  sometimes. 

Tuesday,  6.30  p.m.— I  have  been  ashore  all  day,  at  the 
hunt  with  a  few  other  fellows.  There  is  a  huntsman  on 
shore  and  about  twenty  hounds  ;  they  are  beagles,  and 
have  very  good  kennels.  We  ran  any  amount  of  hares, 
but  did  not  get  one  ;  it  was  great  fun.  I  had  a  very  good 
horse,  which  went  very  well  and  jumped  too.  After  a 
while  the  hounds  got  on  a  fox's  track,  and  the  huntsman 
was  somehow  left  behind.  I  was  on  a  long  way  with  two 
other  fellows,  with  most  of  the  hounds.  We  followed 
about  eight  miles  straight  off.  We  rode  right  over  part  of 
the  great  Plains  of  Troy. 

December  29. — Yesterday  some  of  us  went  on  shore 
to  shoot.  We  saw  any  amount  of  woodcock.  Our 
doctor,  who  is  a  very  good  shot,  got  about  forty  brace  of 
them  in  three  days'  shooting.  I  thought  of  you  all  on 
Christmas   Day.      The   blue-jackets   had   decorated   all 


/et.  15  Troas 


49 


their  mess  place,  etc.,  very  well.  They  had  plenty  to  eat 
for  their  dinner,  and,  as  is  the  custom,  the  Captain  and 
officers  went  round  (the  band  playing  before),  and  the 
blue-jackets  offered  us  different  things  from  their  tables  : 
cake,  cold  duff  (plum  pudding),  biscuits.  Then  the 
Captain  spoke  a  little  to  them,  wishing  them  a  '  Happy 
Christmas,'  etc.  They  are  allowed  to  do  pretty  much 
what  they  like  on  Christmas  Day  ;  some  were  dressed 
in  old  plain  clothes,  some  as  niggers  ;  there  was  also  a 
Father  Christmas. 

December  31.— Yesterday  afternoon  the  Captain 
asked  some  of  us  to  come  with  him  in  the  steam  pinnace 
to  '  Alexandria  Troas,'  about  twelve  miles  down  the  coast. 
We  left  the  ship  soon  after  luncheon  and  got  there  in 
about  an  hour  and  a  half.  You  will  of  course  know  that 
this  Troas  was  built  by  Alexander  the  Great ;  but  now 
there  is  not  much  to  be  seen.  Close  to  the  shore  there 
is  still  the  old  harbour.  You  know  it  was  where  St.  Paul 
brought  Eutychus  to  life,  and  it  is  also  mentioned  in 
Acts  xvi.  8  that  he  went  there,  so  that  we  most  probably 
saw  the  very  place  where  he  must  have  landed.  I 
should  like  to  know  more  about  these  places,  and  wish 
you  could  get  me  a  book  about  antiquities.  The  other 
Troy  is  where  the  Greeks  had  that  stratagem  with  the 
horse  of  wood,  and  were  concealed  in  it. 

It  is  New  Year's  Eve,  and  generally  on  a  ship  at 
12  o'clock  they  strike  sixteen  bells  instead  of  eight,  and 
the  band  gets  up  and  plays  'God  Save  the  Queen.' 
Most  of  the  fellows  stay  up  to  see  the  New  Year  in,  but 
I  do  not  think  I  shall,  as  I  have  to  turn  out  at  four  in 
the  morning  for  a  watch. 

E 


50  At  Sea  jet.  15 

A  '  Chronicle '  of  home  news,  often  illustrated, 
was  sent  regularly  to  Harry,  to  which  all  members 
of  the  family  contributed,  either  in  verse  or  prose. 
These  chronicles  contained  every  variety  of  in- 
formation ;  lively  stories  or  merry  jokes  ;  contribu- 
tions by  guests  staying  in  the  house  acrostics  and 
rhymes,  and  often  the  large,  text-hand  letter  of  a 
little  sister,  composed  with  much  labour,  but  much 
love,  telling  of  the  doings  of  some  favourite  cat 
or  dog. 

January  3,  1879. — Yesterday  I  was  out  shooting  all 
day  with  two  other  fellows.  We  went  to  the  great  marsh 
right  on  about  seven  miles  from  the  landing  place.  It  is 
a  very  big  marsh,  most  of  it  covered  by  tall  reeds  about 
ten  feet  high.  We  followed  for  some  time  round  its 
borders,  and  saw  heaps  of  snipe  ;  in  the  end  I  got  a  brace 
and  a  half  (bagged).  They  got  up  together,  sometimes 
as  many  as  thirty  at  a  time  ;  it  was  very  pretty  to  see 
them.  We  were  constantly  up  to  our  knees  in  water. 
There  were  lots  of  wild  duck  flying  about  in  the  middle 
of  the  marsh  ;  we  tried  to  wade  in,  but  the  water  got  too 
deep  and  muddy  to  get  at  them.  One  of  the  fellows 
shot  a  bittern,  very  like  a  heron,  only  brown,  a  great  big 
bird.  He  had  broken  one  of  its  wings,  and  as  he  was 
killing  it,  it  darted  its  beak  at  his  eye  like  lightning, 
and  luckily  made  a  mark  in  his  forehead  instead.  Just 
as  we  got  back  we  heard  a  telegram  had  come  from  the 
fleet,  to  say  that  one  of  the  'Thunderers'  guns  had  burst, 
and   forty  officers  and  men  were  killed  and  wounded. 


jet,  15  H.M.S.  '  Thunderer'  51 

(It  is  a  terrible  accident,  almost  as  bad  as  the  other 
dreadful  explosion  on  board  her. )  We  are  to  be  ready  to 
go  to  Ismid  to  relieve  her  very  soon. 

The  following  extract  from  the  '  Times '  of 
January  22  gives  interesting  and  touching  par- 
ticulars, well  remembered  by  many  : — 

The  unfortunate  '  Thunderer,'  which  had  only  been 
a  short  time  on  the  station,  had  taken  up  a  position  some 
six  miles  away  from  the  'Alexandra,'  and  three  or  four 
from  the  other  vessels.  Pier  target  had  been  laid  out 
and  one  round  had  been  fired  from  all  her  guns,  with 
battering  charges  and  Palliser  shells,  when  the  order  was 
given  to  load,  with  common  shell  and  reduced  charges, 
the  guns  of  the  foremost  turret  The  starboard  gun  was 
fired,  and  the  port  then  ordered  to  follow.  Almost  im- 
mediately a  terrible  explosion  was  heard,  the  ship  was 
shaken  most  violently  ;  where  the  fore-turret  stood,  was  a 
cloud  of  white  smoke,  and  above  it,  circling  in  the  air,  a 
mass  of  black  fragments,  which  only  too  well  told  of  the 
fearful  disaster  which  had  overtaken  the  men  working 
the  guns  beneath.  It  was  soon  ascertained  that  this  port 
gun  had  burst,  just  before  the  trunnion,  the  muzzle  being 
blown  right  away  into  the  sea,  that  nearly  every  one 
actually  inside  the  part  of  the  turret  where  the  gun  was 
situated  had  been  killed  instantly  ;  and  that  a  large 
number  of  men  had  been  seriously  wounded,  who  were  in 
the  lower  part,  assisting  in  the  working  of  the  various 
machines  connected  with  it.  The  effect  of  the  concus- 
sion upon  the  ship  herself  was  tremendous  ;  all  lights 
were  put  out,  and  everything  of  a  brittle  nature  shattered 

K   2 


52 


At  Sea  jet.  15 


into  fragments.  A  fire  was  produced  in  the  fore  shell- 
room  ;  but,  thanks  to  the  coolness  and  zeal  of  the  men 
on  deck,  it  was  not  allowed  to  spread,  and  was  extin- 
guished before  it  had  attained  any  alarming  dimensions. 
The  other  vessels  in  the  squadron  were  not  slow  in 
getting  alongside  the  unfortunate  '  Thunderer,'  and  the 
wounded  men  were  rapidly  transferred  to  the  'Achilles,' 
'  Monarch,'  and  '  Alexandra '  for  medical  treatment.  It  was 
a  terrible  sight  to  see  the  shattered  remains  of  the  poor 
fellows  killed  in  the  turret, -battered  and  torn  almost  be- 
yond recognition  ;  and  most  heartrending  to  witness  the 
wounded  led  away,  and  carried  off  by  their  sorrowing 
shipmates,  to  the  other  vessels.  Blinded,  with  their 
hands  and  faces  blackened  and  bruised  almost  to  a  jelly, 
their  clothes  burnt,  and  flesh  scorched,  it  was  almost  im- 
possible to  recognise,  in  these  poor  shattered  and  maimed 
suffering  specimens  of  humanity,  the  gallant  men  who  had 
but  a  few  moments  before,  in  all  the  pride  of  health  and 
strength,  been  working  the  monster  guns  of  the  turret. 
Forty-six  in  all  were  killed  and  wounded  by  this  terrible 
explosion,  which  forms  a  sad  pendant  to  the  former  great 
disaster,  when  so  many  lives  were  lost  by  the  bursting  of 
one  of  her  boilers,  during  the  trial  trip  at  Portsmouth. 

The  funeral  of  the  unfortunate  victims  was  solemnised 
the  following  day  at  Ismid,  in  the  Greek  cemetery. 

Ismid,  January  18.— I  was  so  glad  to  hear  on 
Wednesday  when  the  'Wye'  came  in  that  my  box  had 
come.  I  must  thank  you  all  very  much  for  it.  Every- 
thing was  splendid.  The  dried  fruits  were  very  nice,  and 
everybody  enjoyed  them,  and  the  musical  box  is  played 
every  day.  The  books  also  about  Turkey  and  Greece 
will  be  a  great  pleasure  to  read.     I  was  awfully  amused 


wr.  15  Ephesus  53 

with  the  '  Rickerby  Chronicle  '  which  you  sent  me,  and 
think  you  did  it  capitally.  It  is  a  very  good  thing  that 
you  have  started  it.  I  like  so  much  to  hear  of  all  your 
doings  at  Rickerby.  What  fun  the  skating  must  be  ! 
We  are  having  it  rather  cold  now,  and  snow  now  and 
then.  I  should  have  so  liked  to  go  to  Derwentwatei 
with  father  and  the  boys.  What  happy  holidays  you 
must  be  having  ! 

Vourlah  Bay,  near  Smyrna.  February  16.  —  Last 
Monday  I  went  to  Smyrna,  and  returned  on  Friday. 
Browning  and  three  other  fellows  went  too.  We  met 
the  Chaplain,  who  invited  me  to  go  to  Ephesus  with  him. 
We  saw  the  great  temple  of  Diana,  which  has  lately  been 
discovered  ;  St.  Luke's  tomb  with  the  bull  (his  emblem), 
on  a  sort  of  pillar  ;  also  the  great  theatre;  the  baptismal 
font,  a  solid  block  of  stone,  a  tremendous  size.  I  wish  I 
could  explain  it  all  better,  and  I  want  so  much  to  know 
more  about  these  things.  We  got  back  to  the  little  vil- 
lage at  dark,  and  went  to  the  small  hotel  there,  kept  by  a 
Greek — had  good  accommodation,  although  not  much  to 
eat.  We  left  next  morning  by  train  to  Smyrna.  I  will 
send  you  a  copy  of  my  account  book,  so  that  you  may 
see  what  I  spent. 

Monday,  27th. — Parry  and  Pears,  from  the  '  Minotaur,' 
arranged  with  me  to  go  for  a  walk  this  afternoon.  I 
enjoyed  it  very  much  ;  it  was  so  pleasant  meeting  again, 
and  talking  over  things  together.  We  had  a  very  nice 
walk,  going  to  Vourlah,  about  six  miles.  I  have  asked 
them  to  come  on  board  to  see  the  ship,  and  hope  to  go 
and  see  the  '  Minotaur.' 

Besika  Bay. — From  Vourlah  we  went  to  Ismid,  and 
from   thence  to    Gallipoli   with    the    rest   of  the  fleet  ; 


54  At  Sea  ^et.-  15 

which  place  we  all  left  this  morning,  arriving  here  this 
afternoon.  It  was  very  jolly  going  down  the  Darda- 
nelles with  all  the  fleet,  as  we  were  all  under  sail.  As 
we  passed  Chanak,  the  '  Alexandra '  fired  a  salute  to  the 
Turkish  flag  of  twenty-one  guns,  and  they  returned  it 
from  the  fort  on  shore,  as  we  were  leaving  the  Dardanelles 
for  good.  Mr.  Sayce  is  very  kind  to  me,  he  lets  me  use 
his  cabin  whenever  I  like.  I  am  writing  this  letter  in 
his  cabin  now.  I  generally  begin  my  letters  to  you  on 
Sunday  afternoon  (and  finish  them  some  other  time 
before  the  mail  goes),  as  we  always  have  our  afternoons 
to  ourselves  on  Sunday. 

Wednesday  Morning. — No.  3  'Rickerby  Chronicle' 
turned  up  to-day.  It  was  awfully  amusing  as  usual.  I 
liked  the  '  Boy's  Own  Paper '  and  '  Weekly  Welcome ' 
very  much,  and  should  like  them  again.  I  like  the 
papers  too  about  Ephesus. 

Alalia,  March  29. — I  am  now  signal  midshipman 
with  Browning,  he  and  I  keep  watch  alternately  ;  we  do 
not  have  any  nightwork  to  do,  we  have  to  look  after  all 
the  signals  going  on.  I  want  to  ask  you  if  you  would 
mind  my  going  to  the  Opera  here  ?  Lots  of  fellows  have 
gone  there  to-night.  Do  tell  me  just  what  you  would 
like  about  it,  and  if  you  would  not  like  me  to  go  I  should 
be  quite  contented,  as  I  do  not  want  to  do  anything  you 
would  not  like. 

The  answer  to  this  letter  is  lost.  His  parents 
explained  why  they  did  not  themselves  go  to  the 
opera,  but  no  burden  was  laid  upon  his  conscience, 
and  he  was  left  to  decide  for  himself ;  as  it  proved, 
he  never  did  go. 


JET.   15 


Rome  5  5 


Malta,  April 3. — You  will  be  surprised  to  hear  that  we 
have  been  put  into  the  Channel  Fleet  ;  we  heard  of  it  on 
Tuesday  morning,  and  they  are  expected  in  here  every 
day  from  Cyprus.  For  most  things  I  am  glad,  because 
we  shall  very  likely  go  to  England.  We  are  in  Somerset 
Dock  and  quite  dry,  you  can  walk  down  by  the  ship's 
keel ;  all  the  deck  has  been  freshly  caulked,  and  of 
course  there  is  a  great  deal  of  mess  about.  The 
' Thunderer'  is  quite  close  to  us  now;  both  the  guns  in 
the  turret  have  been  taken  out,  and  are  going  back  to 
England  in  the  '  Hecla.'  There  is  a  lawn-tennis  ground 
just  ashore  in  the  dockyard,  to  which  we  can  go.  It-is 
quite  hot  now,  and  we  often  get  ices  ashore. 

13th. — I  thought  of  you  all  when  I  read  the  First  of 
Genesis  this  morning,  most  likely  reading  it  too.  How 
awfully  jolly  it  will  be  if  I  have  the  chance  of  seeing  you 
all  in  England  this  year!  I  have  just  been  reading  all 
your  letters  over  again.  Mother's,  all  about  the  expedi- 
tion to  the  fell,  is  very  nice.  I  wonder  if  you  will  have 
good  shooting  these  holidays. 

ATaples,Junc  9. — Since  last  writing  I  have  received 
such  a  nice  lot  of  letters  from  all  of  you.  Now  you  will 
like  to  hear  about  Rome.  There  were  about  six  of  us 
who  went  from  this  ship.  We  reached  Rome  by  train 
about  seven  in  the  morning  ;  took  a  guide  from  the  Hotel 
d'Angleterre  (where  we  stayed),  and  first  of  all  went  over 
the  Quirinal  Palace,  which  has  magnificent  rooms  and 
pictures.  Then  to  the  Rospigliosi  Gallery,  where  we  saw 
the  famous  'Aurora'  which  there  is  a  print  of,  in  the  hall 
at  Fern  Lodge.  After  that,  drove  to  the  Temple  of  Vesta, 
and  to  the  bridge  over  the  Tiber,  past  the  Theatre  of 
Marcellus,  and  also   saw   the  pyramid   tomb   of  Caius 


56  At  Sea  jet.  15 

Csestus.  Then  to  the  Basilica  of  St.  Paul's  Without 
the  Walls,  a  most  splendid  building,  but  hardly  finished. 
The  huge  columns  of  marble  were  very  grand.  On  our 
return  we  had  ices  in  a  shop,  and  then  all  walked  out  to 
the  Villa  Borghese.  There  we  saw  mosaic,  statues,  and 
pictures.  On  our  way  back,  passed  the  Queen  of  Italy 
in  a  carriage,  and  soon  after  the  King.  The  next  day 
(Sunday)  we  first  saw  the  Forum  of  Trajan  ;  there  are 
a  lot  of  old  columns  still  standing.  Then  the  Roman 
Forum,  where  we  saw  the  Arch  of  Septimus  Severus,  and 
also  the  Temple  of  Constantine,  and  the  Arch  of  Titus. 
It  was  all  very  interesting.  After  that  to  the  Coliseum, 
going  all  over  it  ;  having  guide-books  we  were  able  to 
read  accounts  of  all  we  saw.  I  believe  the  Emperors  used 
to  have  regular  naval  fights  inside  the  Coliseum,  as  water, 
we  were  told,  used  to  be  turned  on.  We  then  drove 
out  to  the  Church  of  St.  Sebastian,  and  saw  what  they 
told  us  were  the  footprints  of  Christ,  and  were  taken 
down  to  the  Catacombs  underneath  the  church,  which 
were  very  curious.  We  drove  on  along  the  Appian  Way 
to  the  Hadrian  Mausoleum,  and  to  the  tombs  of  Cecilia 
Metella  and  Seneca,  having  a  splendid  view  of  the  scenery 
round,  and  seeing  the  aqueducts  very  plainly.  In  the 
evening  went  to  St.  Peter's  to  hear  the  evening  service. 
The  singing  was  beautiful.  We  saw  the  tomb  of  St.  Peter 
and  the  casket  wherein  is  a  bit  of  wood,  supposed  to  be  a 
bit  of  the  Cross.  The  different  lengths  of  the  churches 
were  pointed  out  by  little  stars  marked  in  the  ground. 
St.  Sophia  (at  Constantinople)  shorter  than  our  St.  Paul's, 
and  St.  Paul's  about  100  feet  shorter  than  St.  Peter's, 
showing  what  a  splendid  building  it  is  !  After  table  d'hote 
we  saw  some  fireworks  from  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo,  on 


;et.  15 


Naples  5  7 


the  banks  of  the  Tiber.  First,  the  whole  building  was 
illuminated,  then  the  rockets,  Catherine  wheels,  etc., 
were  awfully  good.  Next  morning  we  went  to  the  Bor- 
ghese  picture  gallery,  and  saw  some  splendid  pictures 
there  ;  then  we  went  on  to  the  Capitol,  and  saw  the 
famous  dying  gladiator,  then  to  the  Lateran  Museum, 
seeing  a  lot  more  curious  things.  Also  went  to  the 
Pantheon,  where  Raphael  was  buried,  and  the  last  king 
(Victor  Emmanuel)  ;  everything  that  we  saw  was  most 
awfully  interesting.  I  did  not  think  you  would  have 
minded  the  things  we  did  on  Sunday ;  we  were  obliged 
to  have  a  carriage,  but  I  thought  about  you,  and  my  not 
going  to  church.  I  am  sorry  that  we  missed  the  Vati- 
can, but  it  was  a  feast  day,  which  prevented  us.  ...  . 
Since  returning  to  Naples,  I  have  been  to  Pompeii  and 
Vesuvius  with  three  other  fellows.  When  we  landed  at 
Castellamare,  we  took  two  nice  little  chaises  and  drove 
out  to  Pompeii.  In  the  Museum  there  were  several  of 
the  real  bodies  in  glass  cases,  all  covered  with  lava  ashes, 
and  the  skeleton  of  a  dog  in  a  most  agonising  position. 
We  walked  through  the  old  streets,  seeing  the  market- 
place, Temples  of  Jupiter  and  Venus.  The  marks  of  the 
chariot  wheels  in  the  stones  of  the  streets  are  to  be  seen. 
Everywhere  about,  you  also  see  old  paintings  on  the  walls 
of  the  houses.  The  baker's  shop  is  a  very  curious  sight, 
everything  so  well  preserved.  After  that  we  ordered 
horses  and  a  guide,  and  set  off  for  Vesuvius.  It  was 
great  fun,  we  rode  as  far  as  we  could,  and  then  began 
to  climb  up  the  cone.  This  was  awfully  tiring  work,  on 
account  of  the  loose  lava  ashes  ;  it  was  a  very  fine  sight 
when  we  reached  the  crater.  The  steam  was  coming 
out  in  great  jets  or  puffs  like  a  steam-engine,  and  every 


58  At  Sea 


now  and  then  came  loose  stones  and  hot  lava.  We 
walked  on  the  latter,  which  in  some  places  quite  burnt 
our  boots.  We  ran  down  quickly  and  rode  back,  reach- 
ing Castellamare  by  carriage.  I  think  we  are  having  a 
very  jolly  cruise,  and  I  have  liked  going  to  all  these 
places  awfully.  To-day  a  match  was  played  between 
the  Channel  Fleet  and  Naples  Club.  We  beat  easily — 
getting  129  runs  in  first  innings  ;  they  had  two  innings 
and  only  got  63.  Our  naval  instructor  and  three  other 
fellows  played  from  our  ship. 

To  fkeep  up  a  constant  fire  of  letters  from 
home '  is  one  of  the  best  means  of  maintaining  a 
strong  tie  with  an  absent  one  ;  and  the  letters 
which  Harry  received  while  at  sea  were  very 
numerous,  so  that  he  could  follow  closely,  with 
eager  interest,  the  games  and  sports  of  his  brothers, 
and  all  the  incidents  of  home  and  school  life. 
From  these  home  letters  a  few  graver  extracts  are 
occasionally  inserted. 

The  following  is  from  his  father : — 

Rickerby  :  June  15. 
Your  capital  letter  of  the  9th  gave  us  a  famous 
account  of  what  you  saw  in  Rome,  and  I  am  very  glad 
you  managed  Vesuvius  also.  I  was  pleased  that  you 
told  us  what  you  felt  as  to  the  Sunday  at  Rome,  and  I 
trust  you  not  only  tell  your  earthly  father,  but  still  more 
your  Heavenly  Father,  and  ask  His  help  and  direction 
in  all  such  matters.  I  think  I  have  said  before  in 
regard  to  Sunday,  it  is  very  difficult  to  lay  down  fixed 


jet.  1 6  Sunday  59 

rules  what  to  do,  and  what  not  to  do.  One  can  and  must 
have  a  fixed  rule  about  lying,  dishonesty,  cruelty,  in- 
decent talk,  or  impurity  of  any  kind,  but  in  regard  to 
Sunday,  I  only  long  for  you  as  I  long  for  myself,  and  all 
about  me,  that  it  may  be  a  quiet  resting  day,  unlike 
common  days,  with  time  for  reading  and  thought,  and 
happy  talks  with  helpful  companions  of  the  right  sort. 
A  Sunday  at  sea  on  a  man-of-war  must  be  very  strange, 
but  I  am  sure  it  is  a  help  to  oneself  anywhere,  to  make 
a  difference  on  Sundays,  however  slight,  to  remind  one- 
self of  the  object  of  the  day,  and,  still  more,  to  show 
one's  colours.  I  often  found  the  difficulty  at  school  and 
college,  but  I  also  found  the  help  given. 


Again  : — 

I  pray  for  you,  my  precious  son,  that  you  may  be 
kept  from  evil,  and  especially,  as  you  grow  older,  that  you 
may  have  grace  given  you,  to  resist  the  special  temp- 
tations to  impurity  of  thought,  word,  or  deed  which 
abound  everywhere,  and  in  the  navy  I  fear  not  least. 
Be  on  your  guard,  and  pray  for  help  to  resist  temptation. 
You  cannot  stand  in  your  own  strength. 

Harry  writes  : — 

At  Sea,  July  27. — We  shall  in  all  probability  get  into 
Vigo  to-morrow.  It  was  awfully  hot  at  Gibraltar,  caused 
chiefly  by  the  Levanter,  a  hot  wind,  blowing.  It  was 
such  a  treat  to  be  able  to  bathe  very  often.  I  have  so 
liked  the  photographs  of  the  dear  grave,  and  shall  put 
one  in  my  Bible  as  mother  advises.     It  is  so  delightful 


6o  At  Sea 


/ET.    l6 


to  think  of  seeing  you  all  again  soon,  and  I  hope  to  get 
leave,  before  Neil's  and  John's  holidays  are  over. 

The  '  Invincible'  reached  England  in  August  ; 
and  Harry  was  met  by  his  father  and  some  of 
the  home-party  at  Devonport,  one  of  whom 
wrote : — 

August  10. — Harry  strikes  me  this  morning  as  being 
quite  his  old  self,  and  yet  there  is  a  more  manly  air  about 
him.  He  is  so  very  sweet,  consulting  father  about  every- 
thing, and  apparently  always  wishing  to  do  what  he 
would  like.  He  is  very  simple,  no  stuck-up  airs  as  boys 
of  his  age  so  often  have,  and  so  gentle  and  loving,  and 
beaming.  His  voice  at  first  seemed  to  alter  him,  but 
through  it  one  recognises  the  old  voice.  He  has  a  very 
business-like  manner,  but  that  he  always  had. 

A  little  later,  Harry  had  leave  of  absence  home, 
for  about  a  fortnight.  When  he  rejoined  the 
'  Invincible '  she  was  for  some  time  in  English 
waters,  and  off  the  coast  of  Ireland,  before  return- 
ing to  the  Mediterranean. 

Just  before  he  sailed  from  Plymouth  his  father 
vviites  to  him  : — 

I  feel  we  do  thoroughly  understand  each  other,  and 
if  ever  you  want  to  write  to  me  about  any  special  point, 
put  '  private '  on  your  letter  inside,  and  then  I  shall 
know  it  is  not  to  be  shown  to  others.  Once  more,  my 
beloved  son,   I  commend  you  to  that  Heavenly  Father 


JET. 


Arthur  F.  Buxton  61 


Who  will  always  hear  you  when  you  turn  to  Him,  as  I  am 
thankful  to  feel  you  do,  in  prayer. 

Ovingion  Gardens. — Yesterday  Arthur  Buxton  came 
here.  He  took  prayers,  and  I  asked  him  to  remember  you 
in  his  prayer.  He  asked  that  our  God  would  go  with  you 
and  keep  your  thoughts  from  all  that  is  evil,  as  well  as  your 
actions.  Let  this  be  your  prayer  for  yourself  as  well  as 
ours  for  you.  Do  not  forget  the  thoughts  of  our  hearts, 
which  left  to  themselves  incline  to  nothing  aright. 

Arthur  Fowell  Buxton,  the  cousin  here  referred 
to,  was  at  this  time  a  curate  in  a  large  London 
parish  ;  but  ere  long,  the  Master  put  the  faith  and 
love  of  His  young  servant  to  the  severer  test  of 
long  months  of  failing  health  and  suffering.  On 
July  31,  1 88 1,  he  was  called  Home,  aged  30. 


IV 
AT    SEA, 

1879-1880. 

We  need  as  much  the  Cross  we  bear, 

As  air  we  breathe,  as  light  we  see  ; 
It  draws  us  to  Thy  side  in  prayer, 

It  binds  us  to  our  strength  in  Thee.' — Miss  Waring. 


'  There  will  be  times  when  a  strain  may  come  on  one,  but 
it  is  only  for  a  time,  and,  as  the  strain,  so  will  your  strength 
be, '—General  Charles  George  Gordon. 


IV. 

AT   SEA,    1 879-I  880. 

This  second  part  of  Harry's  short  experience  of 
sea-life  was  a  trying  one  to  him,  but  he  was 
thankful  for  it  afterwards  ;  at  the  outset  of  this 
voyage,  during  the  storms  which  the  '  Invincible  ' 
encountered,  two  fatal  accidents  occurred,  which 
deeply  moved  and  impressed  him. 
He  writes  : — 

Between  Plymouth  and  Gibraltar,  December  7. — 
We  have  had  very  bad  weather,  especially  in  the  Bay, 
and  have  had  a  miserable  time  of  it,  as  the  seas 
washed  right  over  the  ship,  making  everything  very  un- 
comfortable. Our  gun-room  got  very  wet,  as  a  lot  of 
water  got  into  it,  with  all  our  books  and  things.  Several 
little  things  in  my  locker  got  wet,  and  nearly  all  my 
books.  Any  loose  things  in  the  ship  were  rolling  about, 
and  all  our  chests  had  to  be  tied  up.  I  am  .sure  you  will 
be  sorry  to  hear  that  one  of  our  men  was  killed,  by  falling 
from  aloft  on  Thursday.  It  was  about  3.30  p.m.,  and 
they  were  just  going  to  set  topgallant  sails,  when  the 
man  fell  from  the  main-top  as  the  sailors  were  going 
aloft.  He  fell  right  down  on  deck.  It  wns  my  afternoon 
watch,  so  I  was  on  deck,  and  saw  him  fall.  He  was  fear- 
fully cut  about.      He  was  taken  belov  at  once,  and  died 

F 


66  At  Sea  mt.  16 

about  three  hours  afterwards.  They  say  he  was  not  con- 
scious at  all.  The  doctors  did  all  they  could  ;  they  had  to 
cut  off  one  of  his  legs,  as  it  was  so  badly  smashed.  It 
was  awfully  terrible  seeing  him  fall — but  I  don't  think 
he  could  have  felt  anything  after  it.  He  was  buried  on 
Friday  morning,  sewn  up  in  a  hammock,  and  as  the 
Chaplain  read  the  service  the  body  was  just  slipped 
into  the  sea,  from  the  gangway.  His  messmates  carried 
it  round  the  deck  on  a  stretcher.  I  have  just  been 
reading  the  texts  and  things  in  the  book  you  sent  me  ; 
they  are  very  nice. 

Gibraltar,  December  10. — We  arrived  here  about  3.30 
this  afternoon,  and  have  just  had  another  very  sad  accident. 
About  2  p.m  a  man  fell  overboard  (when  we  were  only 
two  or  three  miles  off '  Gib.')  and  was  drowned.  He  was 
working  on  the  bows  over  the  ship's  side,  and  a  wave 
washed  him  overboard  !  Two  life-buoys  were  thrown 
over  immediately,  and  a  boat  lowered.  We  saw  him 
swimming  to  the  buoy,  but  before  the  boat  got  up  he 
sank.  It  is  supposed  it  was  on  account  of  his  having  a 
big  oilskin  on,  and  sea-boots,  for  he  was  a  capital  swim- 
mer, and  swam  perfectly  well  at  first.  He  got  quite  close 
to  the  buoy,  and  then  it  looked  as  if  he  were  trying  to 
get  the  oilskin  off,  and  I  suppose  it  got  jammed  some- 
how, for  suddenly  he  went  down,  the  boat  arriving  hardly 
a  minute  afterwards. 

Two  men  lost  since  we  left  England  !  It  seemed  to 
come  so  suddenly,  nobody  thinking  about  it.  I  thought 
when  the  first  man  died,  who  would  be  the  next?  and 
how  easily  it  might  be  myself,  or  anyone.  It  seems  such 
a  warning  for  me  always  to  be  prepared,  and  I  do  so 
want  to  be  always  ready. 


mt.  1 6  Cairo  67 

Malta,  December  21. — On  our  way  here  we  saw 
several  waterspouts  with  the  sea  all  foaming  beneath 
them  j  they  were  very  curious.  We  finished  our  examina- 
tions on  Friday.  I  have  done  pretty  well  I  think,  being 
third  of  the  midshipmen  in  this  ship  ;  Browning  was  first. 
I  received  a  nice  batch  of  letters  soon  after  we  got  in 
here  yesterday  ;  I  liked  them  all  so  much,  and  thought 
of  Neil  and  John  going  home  on  the  18th,  and  of  you  all 
together  this  Sunday.  I  know  how  we  shall  think  of  each 
other  on  Christmas  Day.  How  different  it  will  be  for  us  ! 
I  can  hardly  imagine  you  among  frost  and  snow,  as  it  is 
just  like  an  English  summer  here  — perhaps  a  little  colder, 
but  we  are  having  splendid  weather.  You  seem  to  have  it 
awfully  cold  at  home.  I  should  not  have  thought  the 
Eden  would  have  frozen  yet.  I  suppose  skating  will  be 
the  rage  all  the  holidays,  if  the  frost  lasts.  Thank  Rennie 
for  the  text  he  sent  me.  I  hope  you  will  send  my  Bible- 
reading  Union  Card  for  1880,  as  soon  as  you  get  it. 

The  photographs  of  Carlisle  and  Stanwix  are  very 
good,  and  I  have  already  stuck  them  inside  the  lid  of 
my  chest. 

H.M.S.  '  Invincible'  Alexandria,  February  1,  1880. — 
I  have  already  been  to  the  Pyramids  with  five  other 
fellows.  The  journey  to  Cairo  was  most  interesting. 
We  saw  the  great  mouths  of  the  Nile,  and  were  continu- 
ally passing  small  Arab  villages,  which  looked  as  if  they 
were  made  entirely  of  mud — very  wretched  places  to  live 
in.  We  reached  Cairo  on  Monday  evening,  it  is  about 
130  miles  from  Alexandria.  On  Tuesday  morning  we 
started  for  the  Pyramids,  we  took  a  carriage  and  two 
good  donkeys,  which  we  rode  by  turns.  The  Pyramid 
we  went  up  was  all  in  irregular  steps,  about  three  and 

F  2 


68  At  Sea  rt.  16 

four  feet  high.  From  the  top  we  had  a  very  good  view 
of  the  smaller  Pyramids,  Sphinx,  and  other  old  ruins. 
The  great  desert  looked  awfully  curious,  just  like  a  great 
sea  with  high  waves.  As  far  as  you  looked  in  one 
direction,  nothing  could  be  seen  but  sand,  while  on  the 
other  side  were  Cairo,  the  Nile,  and  cultivated  lands. 

We  went  inside  the  Pyramid,  having  to  take  candles 
and  walk  along  a  long  passage,  so  low  in  some  places  we 
could  not  walk  upright.  At  last  we  came  to  a  large  high 
chamber  called  the  Queen's  Chamber.  It  was  awfully 
hot  inside,  as  there  was  so  little  room  for  air  to  enter  ; 
after  that  we  walked  to  the  Sphinx,  which  is  very  much 
disfigured.  I  believe  it  is  all  one  piece  of  stone,  or  very 
nearly  so.  The  Arabs  were  very  troublesome,  continu- 
ally bothering  for  money,  and  wanting  you  to  buy  coins, 
etc.  On  Wednesday  we  all  took  donkeys  (which  abound 
in  Cairo)  to  see  the  city  generally,  the  Egyptian  bazaars, 
etc.  In  the  afternoon  we  all  went  off  on  donkeys  again 
to  see  the  Grand  Mosque,  and  Citadel,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  town.  We  had  to  wear  slippers  over  our  shoes 
inside  the  Mosque.  The  interior  was  very  magnificent. 
After  that  we  were  taken  into  the  Khedive's  Palace, 
which  is  inside  the  Citadel.  Perhaps  you  would  like  to 
hear  a  little  of  what  Cairo  is  like.  It  is  quite  a  large 
town.  One  of  the  principal  streets  which  we  passed 
through,  and  is  called  the  '  Mouski,'  was  very  curious. 
The  conveyances  are  principally  two-horse  open  carriages, 
and  donkeys,  both  of  which  are  very  cheap  to  hire.  When 
anybody  hires  a  carriage,  they  generally  hire  a  'syce' 
•  or  runner),  who  runs  before  the  carriage  to  clear  a  way, 
a^  most  of  the  streets  and  thoroughfares  are  very  crowded. 
They  are   quite  a  class   of  people  by  themselves  ;  they 


jet.  1 6  Pyramids  69 

generally  dress  all  in  white,  and  each  carries  a  long  stick. 
The  bazaars  are  large,  and  we  went  all  through  them. 
We  all  enjoyed  our  trip  immensely. 

The  first  dim  outline  of  the  Pyramids  is  seen 
as  the  train  approaches  Cairo  from  Alexandria; 
they  are  about  nine  miles  from  the  city,  and  they 
stand  on  the  edge  of  the  desert  platform,  which 
rises    some    forty    or    fifty    feet  above    the    richly 


The  Pyramids. 

cultivated  plain,  with  its  waving  fields  of  corn,  and 
feathery  palm  groves.  The  three  Pyramids  of 
Ghizeh  (of  which  the  Pyramid  of  Cheops  is  the 
largest  and  most  renowned)  form  a  distinct  group. 
Before  the  time  of  Abraham  they  stood  as  mighty 
guardians  of  the  desert.  Joseph  must  have  seen 
in  them  the  record  of  a  bygone  age,  and  to  Moses 
they  were  already  ancient  monuments. 

Harry's  next  letters  (from  the  Piraeus)  speak 
of  seeing  Athens,  the  Acropolis,  Mars  Hill,  and 
other  places  of  interest  which  are  all  well  known. 


7o 


At  Sea  ^et.  1 6 


During  the  same  month  he  writes  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Colonel  Synge  by  brigands  at  Salonica, 
and  the  '  Invincible  '  being  ordered  there  imme- 
diately in  consequence. 

Salo?iica,  February  29. — We  went  to  sea  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, going  nearly  full  speed  all  the  way,  and  arrived  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  Salonica  on  Monday  morning.  The 
Captain  decided  on  sending  some  boats  away  to  cruise  and 
board  all  small  vessels,  as  we  heard  the  brigands  intended 
escaping  to  the  Greek  islands,  and  it  was  our  object  to  pre- 
vent them.  So  the  steam-pinnace  and  barge  were  got  ready, 
all  the  men  provided  with  arms,  etc.  We  then  went  on 
to  Salonica,  and  there  heard  that  the  Turkish  soldiers  had 
been  making  an  attempt  to  seize  the  brigands,  but  the 
English  Consul,  finding  that  probably  Colonel  Synge's 
life  would  be  in  danger  if  they  were  captured,  got  an 
order  from  Constantinople,  for  the  military  operations  to 
be  stopped.  We  now  hear  that  the  ransom  asked  by  the 
brigands  for  Colonel  Synge  is  10,000/.,  ten  gold  watches, 
and  eight  swords,  which  is  a  tremendous  lot.  They 
expect  he  will  be  released  in  a  very  few  days  now.  The 
ransom  will,  of  course,  be  paid  by  the  Turkish  Govern- 
ment. 

He  is  an  Englishman,  living  about  twelve  miles  from 
here,  and  a  colonel  in  the  Turkish  Gendarmerie.  He 
has  a  farm  of  his  own,  and  was  attacked  in  his  house 
last  Thursday  week.  He  began  to  defend  his  house, 
but  the  brigands  said  they  would  kill  him  if  he  did  not 
surrender,  therefore  he  was  forced  to  do  so.  The  band 
he  was  taken  by  is  supposed  to  have  about  sixty  men  in  it. 
There  are  any  amount  round  here,  and  the  people  are 


mt.  16  Capsize  j  i 

awfully  afraid  of  them — even  the  soldiers  are  too.  They 
say  it  is  not  safe  even  for  three  or  four  miles  outside  this 
town. 

Pincus,  March  10. — The  King  of  Greece  has  been 
on  board  ;  he  arrived  about  1.30  p.m.  with  all  his  staff. 
The  officers  were  on  deck  in  full  dress  to  receive  him. 
He  had  luncheon  in  the  Captain's  cabin,  after  which  he 
went  over  the  ship,  saw  the  guns  drilled,  etc.  He  was 
very  young-looking,  I  thought.  As  he  was  going  round 
the  ship  he  spoke  to  me  about  my  sea-chest,  etc.  He 
spoke  English  very  well.  The  British  Minister  came 
on  board  with  Mr.  Augustus  Mounsey  and  the  other 
secretary  in  uniform. 

On  Monday  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mounsey  came  on  board 
to  see  the  Captain,  and  go  over  the  ship.  I  took  the 
Captain's  boat  ashore  for  them,  and  brought  them  off  to 
the  ship. 

Malta,  May  16.  — I  must  tell  you  of  a  little  adventure 
I  had  last  week  ;  on  Tuesday  afternoon  all  our  boats 
went  away  sailing,  and  I  went  in  charge  of  the  whaling 


J  I.  M.S.  '  Invincible,'  off  Filfola. 

boat.  After  I  had  been  sailing  about  the  harbour  for 
some  time,  a  sudden  squall  came  on,  and  we  went  right 
over.  We  all  hung  on  to  the  boat,  and  were  picked  up 
in  less  than  a  minute  by  a  boat,  and  went  on  board  again 


j  2  At  Sea  mt.  1 6 


at  once.  But  the  worst  part  was,  that  when  the  boat 
went  over  my  telescope  sank,  which  I  had  taken  away 
with  me,  and  I  am  afraid  there  is  no  hope  of  recovering 
it.  I  hired  two  men  to  drag  for  it  with  hooks,  about 
the  place  where  we  capsized,  and  they  dragged  for  two 
days,  but  could  not  pick  it  up.  I  ought  to  have  thought 
of  getting  hold  of  it  when  we  were  going  over. 

The  monotony  of  harbour  life  at  Malta  was 
delightfully  varied  for  Harry  during  the  month  of 
May.  His  elder  sister  had  accompanied  her  aunt 
and  other  friends  to  Egypt  and  the  Holy  Land  : 
on  their  return  they  diverged  from  Athens  for  a 
ten  days'  visit  to  Valetta,  when  Harry  and  some 
of  his  friends  had  many  opportunities  of  joining 
them  on  shore,  for  excursions  into  the  island,  and 
merry  evenings  at  the  hotel.  This  visit  was  the 
more  acceptable,  as  for  some  months  Harry  had 
not  been  in  vigorous  health,  which  eventually  led 
to  the  decision  that  he  should  leave  the  navy. 

During  the  summer  cruise  that  followed  (to  the 
west  coast  of  Italy,  and  south  coast  of  France)  his 
letters  are  mostly  descriptive  o^  places  revisited. 
He  greatly  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of  a  second 
visit  to  Rome. 

Castellamare,  June  20. — We  had  another  very  sad 
accident  on  board  last  Friday,  while  we  were  drilling 
aloft.  A  man  was  knocked  off  one  of  the  yards  by  a 
sail,  and  fell  right  down  through  a  hatch  on  to  the  deck 


Castellamarc  7  3 


below.  I  was  in  the  main-top  at  the  time,  and  saw  him 
fall.  It  was  awfully  sad,  and  so  terrible  to  see  him  fall. 
He  died  instantaneously,  I  believe,  as  he  was  fearfully 
knocked  about.  Everything  went  on  the  same  that 
morning,  which  seemed  so  curious,  but  of  course  it  could 
not  be  helped.  The  funeral  was  ashore  yesterday,  and  I 
was  sent  to  it,  with  several  other  officers.  The  service 
was  read  by  our  new  Chaplain,  Mr.  Upcher,  who, 
curiously  enough,  joined  us  from  the  '  Helicon '  the  same 
day  the  poor  man  was  killed. 

His  father  writes  : — 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  for  the  third  time  since 
you  sailed  from  Devonport  you  should  have  been  brought 
face  to  face  with  sudden  death,  in  such  a  very  solemn  way, 
and  I  thoroughly  understand  what  you  mean,  about  the 
strangeness  of  everything  going  on  directly  afterwards, 
without  interruption.  Your  letter  has  filled  our  hearts 
with  thanksgiving,  as  many  of  your  letters  have  done,  for 
we  feel  that  a  real  spirit  of  patience  has  been  given  you, 
under  the  past  discipline.  But  again  I  would  remind 
you,  as  my  dear  father  often  reminded  me,  'Let  him 
that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall.'  I 
believe,  if  once  we  fancy  we  are  safe  in  ourselves,  that  is 
just  the  very  time  when  Satan  tries  us  most,  and  often 
succeeds  in  getting  the  better  of  us,  perhaps  in  the  very 
point  where  we  thought  we  were  quite  safe. 

Another  home  letter  says  : — 
July  15. — It  is  disappointing  that  you  are  not  better, 
but  I  hope  these  fresh  remedies  may  do  you  good.     How 
sweet   are  the  words  of  the  Lord   Jesus — '  Whosoever 


74  A  t  Sea  &r.  17 

doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  in  heaven,  the  same  is  my 
brother?  You  are  on  the  '  Invincible  '  for  a  purpose 
for  yourself,  and  very  likely  God  has  something  for  you 
to  do  for  Him  still.  Just  ask,  that  you  may  each  day  do 
the  bit  of  work  our  God's  own  hands  have  given  you 
to  do  ;  give  yourself  into  our  Father's  arms  each  day. 
You  do  not  know  how  much  your  silent  example  may 
do  for  one  or  more  of  the  new  cadets. 

Harry  writes  from  Malta  : — 

September  5.  —Last  Friday,  Mr.  Upcher  and  I  went  out 
after  quails.  We  only  saw  four  birds,  but  each  managed 
to  get  one.  It  is  very  uncertain  about  getting  them  here, 
as  they  only  come  over  from  Africa,  with  a  south-easterly 
wind,  or  '  sirocco,'  as  it  is  called.  Then  it  is  hard  to  find 
them,  as  they  lie  very  close  in  this  hot  weather.  I  am 
going  to  send  you  some  feathers  of  my  first  quail  in 
this  letter.  .  .  . 

I  spoke  to the  other  day,  about  belonging  to  the 

'  Bible  Union,'  and  he  said  he  should  like  to  join  very 
much,  so  I  want  you  to  get  him  a  card  as  soon  as  you 
can,  and  send  it  out.  I  went  down  to  Mr.  Upcher's 
Bible-class  with  the  men  yesterday  evening,  and  I  hope 
to  go  every  Sunday  now.' 

The  Rev.  Knyvet  Upcher  had  not  met  Harry 
as  a  stranger.  Both  far  from  home,  they  were  first 
drawn  to  each  other  when  talking  of  mutual  rela- 
tives and  friends.  Many  pleasant  expeditions  were 
planned  together,  by  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Upcher  ; 
and  Harry,  during  the  remainder  of  his  time  on 


alt.  17     Commander  Charles  Parry,  R.N.     75 

the  '  Invincible,'  found  in  him  one  ever  ready  to 
strengthen  and  encourage  him  in  his  daily  life. 
The  strong,  brave,  loving  spirit  of  their  chaplain 
endeared  him  to  officers  and  men  ;  but  during  the 
summer  of  1881,  in  the  prime  of  his  young  man- 
hood, he  was  laid  low  by  illness,  and  death  called 
him  to  a  higher  service. 

As  Harry's  health  continued  unsatisfactory,  it 
was  decided  at  the  end  of  1880  that  he  should 
resign  his  commission.  His  time  at  sea,  though 
short,  had  brought  many  experiences,  all  most 
valuable  in  forming  and  strengthening  his  cha- 
racter, and  he  learnt  much  from  the  routine  and 
discipline  cf  a  man-of-war.  He  learnt  much,  also, 
from  the  trials  of  which  he  had  his  share,  and 
in  his  case  this  was  truly  a  testing  time.  Evil 
abounds  everywhere,  certainly  not  least  in  a  gun- 
room mess,  where  too  often  swearing  and  bad 
language  are  unrestrained.  How  this  particu- 
lar form  of  evil  has  often  saddened  the  hearts  of 
Christian  officers  is  well  illustrated  in  a  letter 
written  several  years  previously,  by  Commander 
Charles  Parry,  R.N.,  and  thus  recorded  in  his 
'  Life.' 

The  mess  contains  many  wild  fellows,  who,  God  for- 
give them,  like  too  many  of  our  young  officers,  make  it 
their  practice  to  swear  at  almost  anything.     An  oath  is, 


76  At  Sea 


in  fact,  always  ready  at  the  tip  of  their  tongue,  that  they 
may  be  thought  men  among  their  associates.  I  feel  I 
have  been  enabled  to  stop  a  good  deal  of  this  sort  of 
thing,  as  long  as  I  am  actually  at  hand,  having  asked 
them  occasionally  to  refrain,  but  I  hear  it  going  on  be- 
hind my  back.  I  think  that  many  years  will  have  to  roll 
on  before  that  most  foolish  and  self-abasing  idea  leaves 
the  heads  of  midshipmen.  Is  it  not  truly  pitiful  to  think 
that  such  numbers  should  (almost  always  from  the  ex- 
ample of  their  seniors)  be  led  to  curse  and  to  swear  as 
if  there  were  no  harm  in  doing  so  ?  and  after  a  short  time 
they  acquire  such  a  habit,  that  they  actually  do  not  know 
when  they  do  it.  Often  and  often,  when  I  speak  to  the 
younger  fellows  we  have  on  board,  just  after  they  have 
been  making  use  of  very  sad  language,  they  hardly  know 
to  wThat  I  am  alluding. 

Nor  is  this  habit  of  bad  language  confined  to 
the  Navy  only,  as  those  who  are  acquainted  with 
the  inner  life  of  our  large  schools,  offices,  and 
workshops  know  only  too  well.  Thus  a  mother 
writing  of  her  son,  called  home  by  an  early  death, 
says  : — 

He  had  felt  the  great  temptations  of  his  surroundings 
at  the  works — the  swearing  of  the  men — Oh  !  how 
strange  it  is  that  our  boys  who  go  away  fresh  from  a 
sheltered  home,  and  a  mother's  kiss,  should  have  to  be 
exposed  to  an  atmosphere  like  this.  Why  do  not  Chris- 
tian men  see  to  it,  and  purify  our  workshops,  and  make 
them  fit  places  for  our  boys  ?  It  would  be  more  than 
all  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices. 


alt.  17  Meeting  Difficulties  yy 

The  spirit  in  which  Harry  met  other  trials 
may  be  gathered  from  a  letter  he  wrote  more  than 
three  years  later  to  a  youth  in  difficult  circum- 
stances. 

Well,  if  we  had  not  our  great  Friend  to  go  to  always, 
I  don't  know  what  we  should  do.  But,  thank  God,  we 
have,  so  let  us  feel  that  His  hand  is  in  all.  How  closely 
He  must  be  watching  over  our  lives  at  this  present 
moment.  I  am  very  thankful  you  offer  no  resistance, 
although  I  can  quite  understand  the  difficult  position  it 
puts  you  in.  But  we  must  remember  how  closely  fellows 
watch  how  w.e  take  these  sort  of  things.  If  we  only  meet 
them  in  the  right  way,  I  am  sure  they  will  soon  stop. 
We  may  not  actually  strike  back,  but  if  a  fellow  sees 
we  don't  like  it,  why  then  they  go  on.  If  we  appear 
at  all  sulky,  or  look  annoyed  in  face,  you  see  they  take  a 
pride  in  doing  the  same  thing  again.  No,  we  must  make 
an  effort— it  will  be  one — to  take  everything  pleasantly, 
such  as,  '  not  such  a  good  shot  that  time,  try  again,'  or 
make  some  joke.  Now,  we  believe  in  the  power  of 
praytr,  so  let  us  each  ask  for  special  grace  to  meet  all  our 
difficulties  in  a  truly  Chriscian  way,  as  pleasantly  as 
possible.  .  .  .  This  morning  we  had  Mark  xiii.  34,  'To 
every  man  his  work,'  and  our  Lord  has  also  appointed 
to  us  each  one,  particular  work  ;  his  work,  not  somebody 
else's. 

Not  long  before  Harry  left  the  service,  his 
Captain  wrote  of  him,  'He  is  thoroughly  steady 
and  high-principled,  and   I  am  glad  to  have   him 


78  At  Sea  mt.  17 

with  me.'  The  Rev.  Knyvet  Upcher  writes,  '  I 
must  tell  you  Harry  sets  such  a  bright  example 
to  his  messmates  ;  we  are  capital  friends,  he  is  a 
right  good  lad,  and  I  admire  him  very  much.' 

'  He  did  stick  to  his  colours,'  was  the  testimony 
of  one  of  his  messmates  ;  and  he  was  '  a  great  help 
to  all  on  board  in  the  way  of  example.'  '  Always 
firm  and  consistent,  he  never  allowed  himself  to 
take  part  in,  or  countenance,  anything  which  was 
in  any  way  contrary  to  his  principles.' 

Such  was  the  opinion  of  others.  Harry's  own 
estimate  of  himself,  at  this  time,  was  very  different. 
Yearning  after  a  deeper  hold  on  eternal  things,  he 
wrote  : — 

I  feel  just  as  you  do  about  the  evil,  and  the  bad  lan- 
guage that  goes  on,  for  I  seem  to  have  got  familiar  with 
all  that  is  said  and  done.  But  lately  I  have  felt  how- 
bad  I  am  myself,  and  (as  each  of  these  men  was  killed) 
how  unprepared  I  am  for  death.  I  do  so  want  to  be 
more  prepared  for  it. 

How  perfectly  easily  one  may  be  taken  suddenly, 
because  there  are  so  many  dangers  always  around  us. 

And  again  : — 

I  am  striving  day  by  day  to  walk  in  the  right  way,  and 
I  am  sure  1  am  being  helped.  But  I  do  not  seem  to  love 
the  Lord  enough  j  I  want  to  be  brought  much  nearer  to 
Him,  as  somehow  I  feel  unfit  for  His  presence.  But  I 
do  pray  daily  to  be  given  greater  desire  to  follow  Him. 


mt.  17  Letters  79 

A  friend  has  written  lately,  that  at  a  meeting  of 
undergraduates,  held  in  the  spring  of  1884  at  Cam- 
bridge, when  many  spoke,  Harry  said  : — 

'  Before  I  came  up  to  college,  I  was  in  the  Navy,  and 
I  can  thrice  consciously  point  to  a  time  when  brought 
face  to  face  with  death,  the  Holy  Spirit  pleaded  with  me 
in  vain.  But,  thank  God,  not  long  after,  I  could  say  I 
have  passed  from  death  unto  life.' 

The  next  was  written  in  response  to  his  earnest 
desire  '  to  be  brought  nearer '  to  God. 

November  10. — I  am  deeply  thankful  that  you  do  not 
feel  near  enough  to  the  Lord — that  you  do  not  love 
Him  as  you  long  to  do.  This  is  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  your  heart,  and  the  answer  to  our  prayers.  To 
see  our  need  and  helplessness  can  only  be  given  us  by 
Himself.  He  is  working,  and  I  can  joyfully  use  those 
words  about  you  '  being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that 
He  which  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you  will  perfect 
it.'  Accept  His  free  mercy  ;  you  know  He  has  for- 
given you,  as  He  forgave  the  sinful  and  the  sick,  when 
He  was  on  earth,  saying,  'Son,  thy  sins  are  forgiven 
thee.'  Just  praise  Him,  and  do  not  expect  to  feel  a 
great  deal.  He  will  give  feeling  in  His  own  good  time. 
The  great  fact  of  forgiveness  has  nothing  to  do  with 
feeling.  When  any  doubt  comes  to  trouble  you,  tell 
our  loving  Lord,  and  expect  Him  to  take  it  away.  I  am 
sending  a  little  book,  for  you  to  read  on  your  way  home. 
It  is  very  clear  and  helpful.  You  will  not  leave  the  ship 
without  deep  thankfulness  for  all  the  mercies  of  your  life 


8o  At  Sea 


JEY.   17 


on  board.     God  bless  and  keep  you,  and  may  you  seek 
to  serve  Him  first  in  everything. 

The  little  book  referred  to, '  Never  Say  Die  '  (by 
Gillespie  Prout),  was  read  by  Harry  on  his  voyage 
home.  Later  on,  he  told  several  that  he  believed 
he  owed  his  definite  conversion  to  it,  and  he  con- 
stantly gave  it  away,  up  to  a  very  short  time  before 
his  death. 

November  29,  1880. 

Dearest  Father, — I  have  so  liked  your  letters,  and 
I  am  thinking  thoroughly  over  all  you  have  said.  Of 
course  I  feel  as  you  do,  that  my  leaving  the  Navy  is  a  great 
decision  to  have  made.  I  fully  take  in  what  you  say,  and 
understand  about  the  work  to  be  done  afterwards.  I  feel 
with  you  the  necessity  of  working  with  all  my  might  and 
main  at  a  tutor's.  It  is  exactly  what  I  have  thought  of 
for  a  long  time.  Now  that  you  have  mentioned  the 
University,  I  take  it  up  eagerly  also,  as  I  can  well  see  how 
desirable  it  would  be  for  finishing  my  education.  I  shall 
hope  by  working  hard  to  make  up  to  what  I  ought  to  be 
expected  to  know  at  my  age.  I  hope  that  I  may  be  a 
credit  to  you  and  mother,  and  show  you  that  I  intend 
to  set  to  work  with  determination.  .  .  . 

...  As  I  read  your  letter  it  shows  me  what  a  great 
love  both  of  you  have  for  me,  and  thought  for  my 
welfare,  and  I  cannot  say  how  much  I  feel  about  it.  I 
must  say  again  how  deeply  I  feel  all  you  desire  for  me. 

He  reached  home  December  30,  1880,  having 
come  direct  from  Malta  to  Liverpool  by  sea.     One 


.in.  17  Return  Home  81 

of  the  most  distinct  recollections  of  that  return  is 
ot  earnest  talk  and  prayer  together,  as  the  old  year 
passed  away.  It  had  been  a  marked  one  to  Harry; 
not  only  had  he  passed  through  much  personal 
trial,  not  only  were  his  outward  circumstances 
changed,  but  a  great  change  had  also  taken  place 
in  his  inner  life. 

Earnest  desires  to  live  for  God  had  stirred  his 
heart  ever  since  his  little  brother's  death,  but  only 
now  had  they  changed  into  definite  resolve.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  initial  step  into  the 
life  of  God  (the  consent  of  the  heart  and  will)  had 
taken  place  in  Harry  at  this  time. 

It  is  hoped  that  some  clear  words  upon  this 
all-important  subject,  given  in  the  following  extract, 
may  be  found  helpful : — 

Surely  the  religion  of  many  consists  in  the  sentimental 
assent  of  the  understanding  to  truths  which  God  intends 
should  change,  re-create,  transform  the  heart,  so  that  it 
may  be  filled  with  Divine  impulses,  feelings,  and  objects  ; 
so  that  the  'old  things,'  habits  of  unbelief,  love  of  self,  or 
other  sins  should  pass  away,  really,  definitely,  and  for 
ever  ;  and  that  all  things  should  become  new  and  God- 
like :  — but  surely  we  see  clearly  from  the  Word  of  God, 
that  this  is  only  on  condition  that  the  heart  be  willingly 
surrendered.  Why  is  it  that  such  numbers  of  '  religiously 
disposed'  people   have    no    certain  and  powerful  effect 


82  At  Sea.  mt.  17 

on  the  world,  and  are  practically  of  no  use  to  God  ?  It 
is  because  they  do  not  bend  their  will  to  its  part  in  the 
matter  ;  they  wait  for  a  Divine  incoming,  as  it  were,  and 
do  not  honestly  and  distinctly  give  themselves  over  to 
God,  to  be  cleansed,  filled,  and  used  by  Him, 


V 

PREPARATION  FOR  CAMBRIDGE 
AND  BEGINNING  OF  COLLEGE 
LIFE,   1881-83. 

'The  perfect  freeness,  with  which  the  pardon  of  all  our  guilt  is 
offered  in  God"s  Book,  drew  forth  feelings  of  affectionate  love  to 
Him  who  bought  us  with  His  blood.   .   .  . 

'  I  saw  the  duty  and  privilege  immediately  to  accept  salvation  by 
Christ,  and  it  is  my  desire  to  show  my  attachment  to  the  cause  of 
Him  who  died  for  me,  by  devoting  my  life  to  His  service. ' 

David  Livingstone,  writing  of  his  conversion 
in  his  20th  year. 


1  I  used  to  hate  classics.  What  desperate  uphill  work  it  was  to 
read  them— a  regular  exercise  of  self-denial  every  morning  !  Now, 
I  like  it  beyond  any  study  except  divinity. ' 

John  Coleridge  Patteson, 

Missionary-Bishop  and  Martyr. 


G   2 


V 

COLLEGE   LIFE,    1881-1883. 

DEEP  thankfulness  about  him  is  associated  with 
every  remembrance  of  the  winter  holidays  which 
followed.  But  even  then,  his  parents  little  realised 
the  blessing  his  coming  home  was  to  prove. 

Again  he  took  his  place  among  his  brothers  ; 
but  now  only  as  their  leader  in  all  that  was  right 
and  helpful.  Their  joy  at  his  return  knew  no 
bounds,  and  though  the  gap  in  their  number 
seemed  more  apparent  than  ever,  the  zest  with 
which  Harry  returned  to  all  the  home  objects  and 
pleasures  was  to  each  an  increasing  happiness.  Of 
all  the  holiday  fun,  skating  was  to  him  the  best  ; 
for  the  mere  pleasure  of  rushing  up  and  down  upon 
the  ice  again  was  in  itself  sufficient  enjoyment. 

For  the  next  year  and  a  half,  Harry  worked 
in  preparation  for  Cambridge  with  the  Rev.  T.  P. 
Monnington,  whose  living  was  not  many  miles 
from  Carlisle.  Most  fortunate  in  his  tutor,  whom 
he  learned  heartily  to  love  and  respect,  he  made 
steady  progress  in  his  work.  He  had  much  lee 
way  to  make  up,  but,  full  of  earnest  purpose,  and 


86  College  Life  ki.  17 

conscious  of  strength  not  his  own,  he  was  not 
discouraged.  This  was  a  very  happy  time  ;  and 
his  health  improved  daily.  He  often  rode,  or 
bicycled,  home  for  the  Sunday,  starting  cheerily  for 
his  early  return  on  the  Monday  morning. 

Harry's  confirmation  took  place  in  Carlisle  in 
March  1881.  He  was  older  than  boys  usually  are, 
but  when  opportunity  had  offered  before,  his  pa- 
rents felt  he  had  better  wait,  till  he  could  with 
deliberate  and  clear  decision  come  forward  as  one 
of  Christ's  faithful  soldiers  and  servants. 

In  writing  two  years  later  from  Cambridge 
to  a  brother  at  school,  he  thus  refers  to  this 
time  : — 

{March  5,  1883.)— I  have  been  thinking  a  good  deal 
about  your  confirmation  lately,  and  hope  you  are  having 
some  nice  classes  for  it. 

I  do  hope  it  will  be  a  very  helpful  time  to  you,  as  I 
am  sure  it  was  to  me.  You  must  not  think  it  is  merely 
a  form  which  all  have  to  go  through  ;  but  do  just  think 
over  the  words  you  are  going  to  assent  to — '  to  renounce 
the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.'  How  important  it 
is  to  be  able  to  say  this  from  the  heart.  I  am  sure  I 
feel  more  and  more  how  sinful  I  am  by  nature,  and  how 
much  I  need  strength  day  by  day.  And  remember  this 
is  fact  (it  is  not  a  misty  fable),  '  No  man  can  serve  two 
masters,-'  '  ye  cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon.'  Of  course 
you  have  heard  all  this  often  enough,  but  is  it  a  reality  to 
you  ? 


mt.  19  Keswick  87 


In  the  summer  of  1882  Harry  went  to  the 
Keswick  Convention.  This  annual  gathering,  for 
the  strengthening  of  the  Christian  life,  now  so  widely 
known  and  so  increasingly  appreciated,  is  held 
during  the  last  week  of  July.  Each  day  the  large 
tent  is  thronged  with  listeners  to  powerful  and 
practical  addresses,  as  no  building  in  the  place  can 
contain  the  numbers  attending  the  meetings. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  week,  those  who  have 
been  strengthened  and  refreshed  are  invited  to 
stand  up,  and  tell  in  a  few  words  of  the  help  they 
have  received.  Time  often  fails  to  give  oppor- 
tunity to  the  numbers  who  rise,  and  earnest  words 
of  thanksgiving  and  praise  follow  one  another 
from  all  parts  of  the  tent.  Harry  speaks  of  these 
meetings  in  the  following  letter  : — 

July  31,  1882. 

Dearest  Mother, — I  was  so  glad  of  your  note  this 
morning.  I  left  Keswick  at  9.30  and  walked  from 
Blencow  station.  I  must  say  that  I  have  had  a  delightful 
time  there,  and  am  so  thankful  now  that  I  went.  We 
were  a  most  cosy  party,  and  had  a  very  nice  lodging, 
with  lovely  views  of  the  mountains  from  its  windows. 

I  seem  in  a  way  to  be  rather  bewildered  now  about 
the  subjects  of  the  different  speakers  ;  but  the  whole  thing 
I  found  most  helpful  ;  I  see  much  more  distinctly  now, 
what  a  real  Christian's  life  ought  to  be  ;  and  I  do  trust 
and  pray  that  I  may  have  strength  to  act  as  God  would 


88  College  Life 


MT.    19 


have  me.  On  Sunday  evening  we  attended  the  Holy 
Communion,  which  was,  at  a  time  like  this,  specially 
strengthening. 

I  am  longing  to  see  you,  to  talk  it  over.  I  do  want 
to  be  of  some  use  in  my  life  for  the  Lord.  Dear,  dear 
love. 

Your  loving  Son, 

Harry. 

He  continued  to  work  in  preparation  for  Cam- 
bridge, during  the  holidays  which  followed,  and 
began  his  University  course,  at  Trinity  College,  in 
October  1882,  extremely  enjoying  the  new  inter- 
ests and  objects  which  there  opened  before  him. 

Steadily  working,  he  yet  had  plenty  ol  time  to 
enter  into  the  hearty  vigorous  life  of  the  place  ; 
the  renewal  of  old  friendships,  and  the  beginning  of 
many  new  ones,  giving  added  zest  to  the  whole. 
The  following  pages  are  not  only  intended  to  give 
an  impression  of  Harry's  individual  life,  but  a 
general  one,  as  to  the  tastes  and  aims  of  others 
besides  himself. 

It  will  seem  to  many,  that  far  too  much  of  the 
religious  aspect  of  the  life  is  given,  but  the  fact 
remains,  that  the  great  realities  which  made  this 
phase  of  life  so  happy,  did  not  lessen  in  any  degree 
the  fun  and  merriment,  which  characterised  the 
intercourse  of  these  friends. 


a:t.  19 


Mr.  Moody  s  Visit 


89 


Harry   writes  of  Mr.    Moody's  visit  to  Cam- 
bridge : — 

44  Bridge  Street,  November  5,   1882. — Mr.   Moody's 
subject  this  morning  was  '  work  for  the  Master.'  He  said 


m 


m 


Gateway  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge 


that  every  Christian  ought  to  do  something,  and  not  to 
think  any  work  too  insignificant.  He  gave  as  an  illustra- 
tion Moses'  rod,  which  he  said  might  have  been  quite  a 
common  stick  cut  from  a  thorn-bush.     He  said  that  any 


90  College  Life  j&r.  19 

one  might  have  met  Moses  and  said.  '  What  are  you  going 
to  do  with  that  ?  '  '  Oh,  I  am  going  to  bring  many  thou- 
sand people  out  of  bondage  with  it,'  showing  us  that  we 
ought  to  make  use  of  every  little  thing  God  has  given  us. 

It  is  so  pleasant  to  hear  his  plain-spoken  language  again. 
On  Tuesday  he  dwelt  a  good  deal  on  conversion,  and 
said  in  one  part  of  his  address  he  firmly  believed  in  an 
instantaneous  change  of  life.  He  gave  a  good  illustra- 
tion of  this,  saying,  supposing  he  were  to  speak  to  a  man 
who  was  anxious  about  his  soul,  and  if  this  man's  special 
sin  was  that  he  swore  a  hundred  times  a  day,  would  it  be 
right  of  him  to  say,  '  To-morrow,  you  must  only  swear 
eighty  times,  the  day  after  that  only  sixty  times,'  and  so 
on?  No,  of  course  there  must  be  a  complete  change 
at  once.  There  must  be  a  time  when  a  man  passes  from 
death  unto  life. 

Mr.  Moody's  visit  was  the  beginning  of  many 
friendships  for  Harry,  amongst  others  that  with 
Mr.  W.  A.  Watson,  who  wrote  after  his  death, 
referring  to  this  time  : — 

I  made  Harry  Mac  Innes'  acquaintance  in  1882,  and 
was  then  drawn  towards  him  by  his  bright  manner.  In 
November  Mr.  Moody  came  down  to  Cambridge,  and  I 
myself  for  the  first  time  was  shown  the  way  of  peace. 
From  this  time  we  continued  to  see  more  and  more  of 
one  another,  and  many  a  time  have  his  words  of  counsel 
helped  me.  With  regard  to  his  conversion,  he  more  than 
once  told  me  about  it,  how  it  was  through  a  little  book 
his  mother  sent  him  wrhen  he  was  in  the  Mediterranean. 


alt.  19  Cambridge  C.M.U.  91 

He  was  an  enthusiastic  Secretary  for  the  Cambridge 
Church  Missionary  Union.  He  never  neglected  his 
secular  work,  however.  I  had  a  letter  from  him  about 
two  months  before  his  call  Home,  when  abroad,  urging 
me  to  meet  him  there,  that  we  might  read  together. 
That  was  not  to  be.  His  loss  up  here  is  a  great  one,  but 
the  Lord's  will  be  done. 

H.  M.  I.  to  J.  M.  I. 

November  13. — .  .  .  .  Moody  said  something  very 
true  the  other  night— that  no  one  can  have  really  re- 
ceived Christ  in  his  heart  if  he  does  not  confess  Him 
to  his  friends,  if  only  by  some  small  action.  And  he 
gave  us  that  text  :  '  Whosoever  confesseth  Me  before 
men,  him  will  I  confess  before  the  angels  of  God  in 
Heaven.'     It  seems  to  me  such  a  glorious  promise. 

We  have  had  sharp  frosts  the  last  two  nights  here  ; 
I  do  hope  we  shall  get  some  skating  in  the  vac.  On 
Saturday  I  went  a  long  bicycle  ride  with  Lawrence.  We 
went  out  by  train  about  twenty  miles  to  a  place  called 
Baldock,  and  then  wheeled  back.  I  am  still  going  on 
with  my  '  tubbing,'  and  am  going  down  to  the  river  after 
I  have  written  this. 

To  the  Same. 

February  20,  1883. — I  went  out  to  a  brickfield  last 
Friday,  with  Kidd  ;  we  hope  to  go  once  a  week.  It  has 
been  awfully  nice  to  hear  how  the  Blue  Ribbon  meetings 
have  prospered  in  Carlisle.  I  do  want  next  holidays  to 
see  what  we  could  really  do  for  the  good  of  others,  as  I 
feel  that  hitherto  we  have  thought  far  too  much  of  our 
own  pleasures. 


92  College  Life  jet.  19 

One  of  Harry's  most  intimate  friends,  the  Hon. 
Walter  G.  Scott,  has  given  the  following  Cam- 
bridge reminiscences,  beginning  at  this  time  : — 

From  the  fact  that  Harry  came  up  to  Trinity  in  the 
same  year  that  I  did,  I  naturally  saw  a  good  deal  of  him. 
We  first  made  acquaintance  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Moody's 
visit  here  in  November  1882.  He  was  soon  anxious  to 
take  part  in  active  Christian  work,  and  joined  us  in 
visiting  brickfields,  etc.,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cam- 
bridge, giving  tracts  to  the  men,  and  speaking  to  them 
individually,  or  together,  as  opportunity  occurred.  He 
was  deeply  interested  in  this  work,  and  I  believe  a  really 
good  work  was  done  at  the  brickfield  he  visited.  He, 
Lawrence  Carr,  and  myself,  used  to  visit  together  a  men's 
ward  at  the  hospital  on  Sunday  mornings,  and  I  re- 
member many  happy  times  there.  He  took  a  great  in- 
terest in  the  men,  and  often  went  there  on  week-day 
afternoons  as  well. 

In  calling  upon  undergraduates,  and  making  known 
special  services,  his  list  of  men  included  some  who  were, 
humanly  speaking,  very  formidable  ;  however,  he  went 
fearlessly  and  was  faithful  to  his  work.  He  was  one  of  the 
Trinity  Freshmen  who  joined  (November  1882)  in  starting 
a  Bible  Reading,  for  men  of  our  own  year.  This  has  been 
continued,  and  he  was  a  constant  attendant  up  to  the  last. 
In  a  notebook  I  find  entered  the  dates  when  he  (in  his 
turn)  opened  these  readings.  I  well  remember  how 
anxious  he  was  that  there  should  be  real  definite  blessing 
at  our  meetings. 

There  was  no  one,  I  suppose,  I  saw  more  frequently, 
as  our  lodgings  were  near  together,  and  we  always  dined 


et.  19  Love  for  Children  93 

at  the  same  table  in  '  Hall.'  His  conversation  was  con- 
stantly of  things  pertaining  to  everlasting  life,  and  many 
delightful  times  we  had,  reading  a  few  verses,  followed, 
by  prayer.  He  was  always  bright,  cheerful,  and  full  of 
fun.  May  he  be  still  more  blest  to  us  now,  than  ever 
he  was  in  life — and  that  was  not  a  little  !  We  miss  him 
much  here,  but  how  blessed  to  know  'it  is  well  with  his 
soul.' 

Harry's  great  friend,  Lawrence  C.  Carr,  also 
writes  at  this  time  of  their  visits  to  the  hospital, 
being  preceded  by  prayer  together,  which  strength- 
ened and  encouraged  them. 

After  visiting  the  men,  they  sometimes  went 
into  the  children's  ward,  enjoying  the  pleasure  of 
the  little  ones  over  the  picture  leaflets  given  to 
them. 

His  devotion  to  little  children  was  always 
great  ;  it  was  no  trouble  or  waste  of  time  to  him 
to  amuse  and  interest  them.  Among  many  in- 
stances of  this,  an  aunt,  Mrs.  Daniel  F.  Wilson, 
recalls  the  merry  games  he  improvised  for  a 
tiny  cousin  of  three,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
following  vacation.  One  day  little  Gladys  sat 
patiently  waiting  on  the  staircase  for  an  hour, 
watching  the  hall  door,  Harry  having  promised 
her  a  '  game  of  trains  '  as  soon  as  he  came  in. 
With  great  delight  she  greeted  his  return,  when  he 
instantly  dressed  up  as  a  guard,  and  the  two  kept 


94  College  Life  ,et.  19 

up  shouts  of  merriment  over  the  supposed  railway 
journey,  for  some  time. 

H.  M.  I.  to  his  Mother. 

February  25. —  ...  I  heard  an  idea  to-day  at  our 
reading,  which  ought  to  stir  us  up.  The  unconverted 
here  will  reproach  us  at  the  Day  of  Judgment,  saying, 
'  You  were  three  whole  years  among  us,  and  what  did  you 
do  for  our  souls  ? ' 

I  am  sure,  as  you  say,  that  we  ought  to  be  very 
watchful  of  our  own  selves ;  we  must  be  thorough  our- 
selves, or  we  cannot  properly  help  others. 

has  been  in  this  morning,  and  tells  me  he  has  a 

letter  from  a  careless  friend  of  his,  now  at  Sandhurst, 
written  not  at  all  in  a  nice  line.  He  has  been  rather  in 
doubt  about  what  to  do.  I  told  him  he  had  much  better 
let  the  fellow  know  '  his  line  '  at  once.  It  will  be  so  much 
easier  afterwards,  and  then  we  prayed  about  it.  I  expect 
to-morrow  to  find  he  has  answered  boldly. 

To  07ie  of  his  Brothers  at  School. 

Trinity  College. —  ...  I  am  so  glad  to  hear  that  you 
have  got  a  fellow  to  join  the  Bible  Union.  Curiously 
enough,  I  have  felt  the  desire  to  write  and  ask  you  to 
get  up  a  little  Bible-reading  for  those  who  belong,  or 
who  care  to  read.  Ask  anybody  who  would  be  at  all 
inclined  to  come  ;  you  will  know  the  most  convenient 
time,  don't  have  it  when  you  are  sleepy.  I  know  you 
will  like  me  to  suggest  one  or  two  things.  Always 
begin  with  asking  God's  blessing  on  the  word  read  ;  and 
do  read  expecting  to  find  some  treasure,  something  to 


,et.  19  Scotland  95 

carry  away  with  you  ;  it  is  always  there  if  you  seek.  I 
firmly  believe  the  greatest  thing  towards  walking  faithfully 
is  reading  the  Bible.  Also  make  it  always  cheerful  so 
that  all  may  keep  up  the  interest. 

Do  let  us  ask  that  '  the  fear  of  man  '  may  be  taken 
away  from  us.  I  am  sure  this  is  what  is  keeping  us 
back  so  from  coming  out.  In  asking  any  one  to  join,  you 
might  tell  of  our  meetings  here,  and  how  they  help  us. 

Again  : — 

You  seem  to  be  doing  well  at  the  butts  ;  I  like  to 
see  your  scores  put  down,  as  it  reminds  me  of  my  butt- 
shooting  at  Malta.  We  used  to  score  in  the  same 
way  you  seem  to  do. 

I  know  you  make  a  point  of  carrying  something  away 
with  you  each  night  from  your  reading.  I  do  trust 
all  who  read  with  you  may  really  be  brought  to  the 
point ;  numbers  strive  to  do  right,  and  get  so  near,  but 
yet  they  never  have  real  rest  in  their  souls.  For  to- 
morrow, I  think  verse  28  of  Heb.  xii.  will  be  most  helpful 
(especially  margin  of  new  version) — '  let  us  have  thank- 
fulness whereby  we  may  serve  God  acceptably.'  If  we 
are  truly  thankful  to  Jesus  for  what  He  has  done,  we 
have  some  impetus  given  for  working  for  Him. 

His  parents  started  for  three  short  weeks  in 
Scotland,  at  the  beginning  of  July.  Harry  went 
with  them,  and  was  their  thoughtful  and  devoted 
companion.  Ready  for  anything,  on  the  alert  to 
save  them  all  trouble,  his  joyous  spirit  was  to  his 
parents  the  best  part  of  the  holiday.     His  father 


96  College  Life 


and  he  began  by  fishing  on  Loch  Shin  ;  when  on 
Loch  Inver,  and  sailing  among  the  islands  near, 
he  quite  as  naturally  took  the  direction  of  the  boat, 
as  in  his  naval  days.  Never  will  the  lovely  morn- 
ings be  forgotten,  when,  after  the  early  Bible  read- 
ing together,  he  joined  in  earnest  prayer,  specially 
remembering  his  brothers  at  school  ;  or  those  long 
summer  evenings,  when  he  would  read  aloud  to 
his  mother  by  daylight  at  about  1 1  P.M.  A  few 
delightful  days  in  Skye  ended  this  happy  time. 

By  the  end  of  July  Harry,  with  some  of  the 
home  party,  was  again  at  the  Keswick  Convention. 
The  death  and  funeral  of  the  Rev.  Canon  Harford 
Battersby  (one  of  the  originators  of  these  gather- 
ings) made  the  week  one  of  peculiar  interest. 
His  familiar  presence  could  not  fail  to  be  sorely 
missed  by  the  many  assembled,  who  mourned 
his  loss  as  that  of  a  dear  and  valued  friend  ;  and 
none  who  were  there  could  ever  forget  the  scene 
by  the  open  grave,  in  full  view  of  the  lovely  lake 
and  mountains,  bathed  in  the  brilliant  sunshine  of 
a  July  day,  when  more  than  a  thousand  people 
joined  in  the  beautiful  service  and  hymns  of  thanks- 
giving and  praise. 

The  look  of  joy  deepened  on  Harry's  face  as 
the  days  of  that  helpful  week  went  on.  He  said, 
as  usual,  very  little    of  what  was  passing  in  his 


^ET.   20 


Keswick  9  7 


mind,  but  that  little  was  very  real.  On  the  last 
day,  when  the  customary  invitation  was  given  to 
praise  God  by  public  testimony,  he  was  one  of  the 
many  who  responded.  After  reading  Romans  viii. 
13  ('  For  if  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die  ;  but 
if  ye,  through  the  Spirit,  do  mortify  the  deeds  of 
the  body,  ye  shall  live  '),  he  said  he  could  never 
thank  God  enough,  for  the  three  words  '  through 
the  Spirit,'  they  had  brought  home  to  him  the 
reality  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  power  to  overcome  all 
the  hindrances  and  difficulties  of  the  Christian  life. 

Rickerby,  August  6. 
To  L.  C.  Carr. — Thanks  so  much  for  your  letter  ;  I 
hope  you  will  excuse  my  not  returning  the  compliment 
by  the  next  post.  We  certainly  did  have  a  wonderful 
week  at  Keswick  this  year.  The  meetings  were  most 
stirring.  There  seemed  to  be  such  a  halo  about  the 
place,  I  cannot  say  how  much  I  was  helped  definitely 
during  the  week.  I  hardly  like  to  say  much,  as  we  must 
'  be  doers,  not  hearers  only,'  but  I  am  sure  God  is 
going  to  keep  me.  I  had  a  very  nice  time  in  Scot- 
land with  father  and  mother,  and  we  had  some  good 
days  fishing.  We  played  against  the  '  High  School 
Wanderers'  last  Friday,  and  were  beaten  altogether. 
We  shall  miss  your  valuable  aid  in  that  line  very  much 
this  year.  I  shall  be  looking  forward  to  seeing  you  at 
Scarborough. 

In  August  of  this  year  Harry  joined  a  party  of 
young  men  at  Scarborough,  to  help  in  special  shore 

H 


98  College  Life  tet.  20 

services  for  children  and  young  people,  which  are 
now  a  feature  at  many  seaside  places.  They  were 
all  University  men  from  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
whom  Mr.  Arrowsmith  had  gathered  around  him, 
in  a  house  large  enough  to  accommodate  '  the 
happy  family,'  and  it  was  a  bright  party  which 
met  morning  after  morning,  refreshed  by  an  early 
bathe,  to  consecrate  the  day  by  united  praise  and 
prayer  to  God. 

No  lack  of  merriment  was  there  among  them, 
though  each  did  his  appointed  work  thoroughly. 
Some  distributed  notices  of  the  meetings,  some 
guarded  the  large  circle  formed  on  the  shore  by 
a  barrier  of  rope,  and  helped  timid  children  to 
their  seats  ;  others  undertook  the  more  responsible 
work  of  winning  boys  to  confidence  in  quiet  talks, 
or  spoke  at  a  meeting  for  boys  only,  or  addressed 
crowds  on  the  esplanade  on  the  Sunday  evenings. 

Harry  was  equally  ready  to  join  the  elder  boys 
at  cricket  and  tennis,  or  to  help  the  little  ones  on 
the  shore,  when  hands  and  spades  were  all  put 
into  requisition  to  make  '  the  pulpit,'  and  rows  of 
seats  of  hard  sand — the  '  pulpit '  being  a  well- 
arranged  sand-heap,  often  adorned  with  sea-weed 
and  pebble  texts.  The  names  and  addresses  of 
many  of  the  elder  boys,  with  whom  Harry  kept 
up  a   correspondence,  were  found    in   his  pocket- 


,et.  20  Scarborough  99 

book  after  his  death  ;  and  the  following  extract  from 
a  letter  written  by  one  of  them  on  hearing  of  his 
sudden  call  shows  how  fruitful  may  be  the  influ- 
ence of  young  men  and  boys  upon  each  other. 

I  remember  when  I  first  met  your  brother  how  kind 
he  was  to  me.  It  was  he  who  brought  me  into  the  right 
path,  and  first  made  me  think  what  kind  of  life  I  was 
leading  ;  and  how  great  is  the  love  of  Jesus. 

People  seem  to  think  that  because  we  are  clergymen's 
sons  we  get  all  the  teaching  we  want  at  home.  We  do 
get  plenty  of  teaching,  and  have  Bible-reading,  etc.,  but 
never  till  I  met  your  brother  had  I  realised  how  great 
the  love  of  Jesus  is  for  us,  and  how  much  He  suffered  for 
us.  He  worked  hard  for  his  Master  at  Scarborough,  and 
I  dare  say  that  I  am  not  the  only  one  who  through  his 
influence  was  led  to  the  love  of  Jesus.  There  are  not 
many  young  fellows  who  are  as  ready  to  meet  their  Lord 
as  he  was.  Your  brother  always  seemed  so  kind  and 
sympathising  to  those  around  him.  We  went  to  a 
meeting  in  a  mission-room  on  the  south  cliff;  he  gave 
us  an  address  there,  and  I  was  specially  struck  with  the 
kind  way  in  which  he  spoke. 

He  got  me  to  join  the  School  Boys'  Scripture  Union. 
Since  then  I  have  got  eight  fellows  this  term  to  belong 
to  it ;  so  I  am  not  the  only  fellow  in  this  house  whom 
he  has  been  a  means  of  helping. 

Recollections  of  this  time  have  also  been  con- 
tributed by  Mr.  Cecil  Boutflower,  of  Christ  Church, 
Oxford,  who  was  one  of  the  part)-. 

H    2 


ioo  College  Life  jet.  20 

It  was  in  August  1883  that  I  first  saw  much  of  Harry. 
We  met  at  the  train  going  to  Scarborough  (and  in  the 
course  of  that  first  hour  in  the  train  I  remember  we  had 
our  morning  Bible-reading  together),  and  we  parted  just 
three  weeks  afterwards.  Those  were  three  of  the  happiest 
weeks  in  our  recollection,  for  both  of  us  had  been  asked 
to  come,  with  eight  or  ten  other  men  from  Oxford  and 
Cambridge,  to  do  what  we  could  to  help  Mr.  Arrow- 
smith  ;  a  work  after  Harry's  own  heart,  and  surely,  too, 
after  the  heart  of  Him  Who  said  to  the  multitudes  by  the 
sea-shore,  'Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  Me.' 
In  the  course  of  those  busy  weeks  there  was  not  much 
time  for  long  sit-down  talks  ;  but  there  was  plenty  of 
opportunity  for  exchanging  thoughts  about  the  Master, 
for  whom  the  work  was  being  done,  and  learning  from 
the  yet  more  speaking  eloquence  of  some  of  His  ser- 
vants' lives. 

Harry's  thoughts  were  mostly  short  and  straight  to 
the  point,  they  were  the  thoughts  of  a  man  who  had 
been  taught  to  say,  '  One  thing  I  know.''  And  his  life  was, 
I  think,  the  better  half  of  what  we  learnt  from  him  ;  for 
it  was  the  life  of  a  man  who  could  say,  '  One  thing  I 
do.1  That  is  just  one  of  the  great  sermons  we  young 
fellows  so  sorely  need  to  read  over  and  over  again  ;  and 
now  God  has  taken  away  His  'living  epistle,'  but  He 
has  left  us  the  lesson.  There  was  another  thing,  too, 
that  I  don't  remember  having  heard  in  any  sermon  j 
namely,  the  art  of  taking  the  lowest  place,  without  letting 
any  one  notice  or  think  that  it  is  the  lowest  place.  In 
the  mission  work  we  each  had  our  own  department,  and 
no  doubt  it  is  a  great  thing  that  each  man  should  do 
that  which  he  likes,  because  that  is  what  he  will  do  best. 


jet.  20  Scarborough  ioi 

But  somehow  I  noticed  that  Harry  always  managed  to 
like  best  the  things  that  other  people  were  not  likely  to 
choose.  Some  people,  perhaps,  are  so  very  easy  to  please, 
because  they  are  apathetic  about  everything.  But  that  was 
not  Harry,  for  as  God  gave  him  great  vigour,  so  Christ 
helped  him  to  put  it  into  everything  he  did  in  the  work, 
and  it  was  done  with  zest  and  eagerness  ;  it  was  the  same 
with  all  the  humblest  parts  of  the  work — the  '  fagging,' 
as  we  termed  it.  Perhaps  if  all  of  us  were  more  willing 
to  be  the  earthen  vessels  of  Christ's  household,  we  too 
should  be  more  filled  with  the  oil  of  His  Spirit. 

One  of  the  helpers  writes,  '  The  first  time  I  spoke  to 
Mr.  Mac  Innes  I  did  not  know  who  he  wasj  but  I 
asked  him  to  go  and  speak  to  a  boy,  whom  his  friends 
were  trying  to  entice  away  from  the  service  ;  and  after- 
wards, when  I  apologised,  he  said  at  once  so  earnestly, 
"one  is  so  glad  to  do  anything  to  help  in  the  work." 
That  was  the  text  of  the  three-weeks'  sermon,  not  "so 
willing,"  but  "  so  glad  to  do  anything." ' 

There  are  two  separate  shores  at  Scarborough — the 
great  south  shore,  where  Mr.  Arrowsmith  held  the  ser- 
vice every  morning  ;  the  quieter  north  shore,  quite  a 
mile  away,  where  one  or  two  went  every  morning. 
Latterly  Harry  went  there  every  day,  taking  half  of  the 
heavy  responsibility  of  managing  the  little  service  ;  no 
easy  thing  when  two  were  quite  thrown  on  their  own 
judgment  and  resources,  and  would  have  felt  much 
more  diffident  than  at  the  big  regular  services  on  the 
south  shore  (where  the  share  of  responsibility  was  com- 
paratively small),  but  for  the  grand  thought — '  Have  not  I 
commanded  thee  ?  Be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage.'  I 
don't  think  anything  distressed  him  or  turned  him  out  of 


102  College  Life 


his  course  ;  I  was  only  there  with  him  twice,  but  he 
seemed  to  speak  so  simply  and  certainly,  as  if  he  knew 
that  it  was  God's  message,  not  his  in  any  way.  The 
'  words  of  life '  were  so  '  beautiful '  and  '  wonderful '  to 
him  (to  use  the  words  of  his  favourite  hymn  on  the  sheet 
we  used)  that  anything  he  said  about  them  in  public  or 
private  was  said  with  the  confidence  of  one  who  cannot 
think  that  they  should  be  anything  else  to  others. 

So,  too,  with  the  difficult  work  of  inviting  the  boys  to 
come  to  the  services,  and  giving  away  the  cards  ;  so,  too, 
whether  on  the  cricket-field  in  the  afternoons,  or  in 
organising  the  great  tennis-tournament,  which  wanted  so 
much  forethought  and  patience,  it  was  all  done  heartily, 
as  if  there  was  nothing  small  or  mean  in  the  Master's 
work.  Last  Easter  we  had  a  happy  revival  of  Scar- 
borough memories,  when  five  of  us,  who  had  been 
there  together,  walked  together  over  Cumrew  Fell  in 
Cumberland ;  and  were  able  to  tell  of  many  a  bit  of 
bright  testimony,  and  many  a  hopeful  sign  picked  up 
since  the  campaign  was  over ;  and  as  on  the  first  day, 
so  on  that  last,  to  'speak  often  one  to  another '  of  Him. 
And  now  the  Lord,  who  then,  as  ever,  surely  'heark- 
ened and  heard  it ; '  the  Lord  who  hearkened  and  heard 
it,  in  that  last  bright  hour  when  the  two  brothers  spoke 
one  to  another,  and  who  wrrites  the  book  of  loving  re- 
membrance, has  sent  for  His  servant  home.  But  even 
from  that  last  walk  in  Switzerland,  as  it  were  from  the  very 
threshold  of  Heaven,  there  comes  to  us  one  more  link 
to  the  bright  Scarborough  memories.  'We  can't  sing 
much,  you  know,  but  there's  nobody  to  hear  us  here  ; 
let's  have  a  hymn.'  And  the  hymn  they  sang  was  the  old 
Scarborough  opening  hymn,  '  Oh,  we  are  volunteers  in  the 


iET.  20  Yacht  103 

army  of  the  Lord,'  with  its  bright  chorus,  'Come  and 
join  the  army,  the  army  of  the  Lord,'  just  before  the 
young  soldier  who  had  fought  so  nobly  through  the 
power  of  Christ,  in  the  army  of  the  Church  militant,  was 
suddenly  called  up  to  join  the  army  of  the  Church 
triumphant. 

Very  helpful  work  in  connection  with  the  mis- 
sion is  also  carried  on  by  means  of  a  yacht,  which 
enables  a  party  of  university  men  to  touch  at 
various  places. 

Harry  writes  to  his  friend,  the  Hon.  Walter  G. 

Scott  :— 

Scarborough,  September  8,  1883. — I  must  commence 
my  letter  to  you  in  the  same  strain  as  your  nice  long  one 
to  me.  What  a  fellow  you  must  think  me  to  have  left  your 
letter  unanswered  for  such  an  age  !  But  somehow  it  is 
difficult  to  get  time  here.  I  was  awfully  glad  to  hear  of 
your  cruise  with  Mr.  Banaster.  You  must  indeed  have 
enjoyed  the  time  very  much  j  I  wonder  which  you  liked 
best— Llandudno,  or  the  yachting  part  of  it  ?  I  can't  say 
how  interested  I  am  in  this  work  ;  it  is  such  a  grand  way 
of  getting  hold  of  young  people.  We  have  been  very 
much  encouraged  here  on  the  whole,  though  the  place  is 
so  large,  and  there  are  so  many  counter-attractions  for 
the  young  people,  but  we  have  been  wonderfully  helped. 
.  .  .  We  have  been  a  very  jovial  party  in  the  house. 
Thursdays  (previous  to  the  boys'  meeting)  are  special 
days  for  '  tea-fights  '  .  .  . 

He    also  wrote,  at   the    same  time,  of  a  lady 


]04  College  Life  &i.  20 

saying  to  one  of  his  friends  :  '  It  is  really  very  good 
of  you  to  help  in  this  sort  of  thing  ;  but  I  suppose, 
for  the  rest  of  the  year,  you  become  like  ordinary 
mortals!  Harry  adds  :  '  Another  gentleman  asked 
one  of  us,  "  What  we  did  with  ourselves  when  the 
season  is  over  ?  "  ' 

On  his  return  with  two  of  his  brothers  from 
Scarborough,  he  entered  with  renewed  zest  into  all 
the  home  objects.  A  friend,  who  was  staying  at 
Rickerby,  recalls  their  welcome  return  : — 

How  impossible  it  seems  to  realise  that  dear  Harry 
is  no  longer  with  you,  when  I  remember  him  only  a  short 
time  ago,  so  bright  and  happy  and  full  of  fun,  strumming 
those  tunes  on  the  piano,  beginning  to  practise  every 
evening  directly  after  dinner,  and  so  persevering  that  he 
really  got  on  wonderfully  in  the  short  time.  Then  one 
morning,  standing  up  against  the  wall  by  the  drawing- 
room-door,  at  family  prayers,  and  telling  us  and  all  the 
servants  about  Scarborough.  What  fun  too  he  often  used 
to  make — manly  and  full  of  spirits,  and  yet  so  deeply  in 
earnest  about  spiritual  things.  I  cannot  think  of  you  all 
without  him  ! 

The  young  men's  Bible  class  on  Sunday 
afternoons  (which  he  had  started  some  time  be- 
fore) specially  interested  him,  and  many  a  good 
game  of  cricket  they  all  had  together  during  these 
early  autumn  evenings  before  his  return  to  Cam- 
bridge.    Some   '  treats '  had    also  been  purposely 


At  Home  105 


delayed  till  the  boys'  return,  and  at  these  gather- 
ings his  vigorous  presence  and  practical  thought- 
fulness  in  arrangement  added  much  to  the  success 
of  the  days.  One  picture  of  him  is  specially 
present  when,  after  the  amusements  of  the  day 
were  over,  he  stood  within  a  circle  of  aged  men 
and  women  from  the  workhouse  ;  telling  them  of 
the  great  love  of  the  Lord  Jesus — what  it  was  daily 
and  hourly  to  himself,  and  urging  them  to  make 
Him  their  refuge  at  once. 

To  a  Boy  whom  Harry  had  met  at  Scarborough. 

Rickerby,  October  2,  1883. 

Dear  Willie,— I  suppose  you  will  have  gone  back  to 
school  by  this  time,  so  that  I  will  address  this  there. 
What  a  nice  time  we  had  at  Scarborough,  hadn't  we  ? 
I  was  so  sorry  to  leave  on  September  n,  but  all  pleasant 
times  have  an  end,  we  know,  and  how  thankful  we  ought 
to  be  for  the  happy  days  there.  Our  last  service  on 
the  north  shore  was  very  nice  ;  although  it  came  on  to 
rain  just  before  we  began  to  speak,  and  we  all  had  to 
run  off  under  the  pier.  I  do  hope  if  you  are  able  to 
write  back  to  me  that  you  will  tell  me  how  you  are  get- 
ting on,  and  about  your  school,  and  if  you  have  got  some 
really  nice  friends.  How  important  it  is  to  make  friends 
ot  those  who  will  not  hinder  our  Christian  life,  for  let 
us  remember  how  easily  we  may  be  led  wrong. 

I  wonder  if  you  go  in  for  football  at  all,  or  rounders 
at  your  school,  such  splendid  exercise,  isn't  it  ? 

I  suppose  cricket  is  over  by  now.     I  played  in  such 


io6  College  Life 


a  curious  match  last  Wednesday.  Perhaps  you  will  re- 
member what  a  gale  there  was  that  day.  But  we  played 
all  the  same,  as  some  of  the  fellows  had  come  a  long  way 
and  wanted  a  game.  It  was  raining  the  whole  time  ;  we 
fielded  in  great  coats  and  waterproofs — it  looked  so  funny! 
I  shall  think  of  you  reading  the  scripture  portion  every 
day.  I  hope  you  will  be  able  to  understand  Ezra,  but  I 
think  if  we  always  read  as  if  we  were  looking  for  some- 
thing, like  miners  searching  carefully  for  gold,  we  shall 
find  something  very  precious  to  carry  with  us  all  through 
the  day. 

Do  you  know,  I  think  it  is  far  best  to  read  directly 
we  get  up,  as  we  are  so  much  fresher  then  than  at  night ; 
and  only  a  very  few  minutes  is  far  better  than  nothing. 

Now,  look  here  !    I  am  going  to  give  you  a  text  to  store 
up  in  your  memory  box,  and  I  hope  you  will  send  me 
one,  as  I  like  and  want  them  as  much  as  you  do.     Mine 
is,  '  The  Lord  is  thy  Keeper.'     Now  good-bye. 
Yours  sincerely, 

H.  Mac  Innes. 


VI. 

COLLEGE    LIFE,    1883-84. 

1  Ponder  this  little  word  "  now," — so  full  of  mystery  when  we 
try  to  understand  it  at  all,  so  full  of  deep  meaning,  so  full  of  workings 
for  a  far-off  future,  — this  seed-plot  of  unknown  harvests,  this  trea- 
sure-house of  jewels  for  a  future  glorious  bridal  ;  meditate  on  its 
importance  as  beyond  all  value,  regard  this  bright  present  as  a 
great  ordinance  of  God  respecting  you.  These  golden  moments 
are  passing  by  us  quicker  than  we  can  watch  them.  Have  we 
grasped  them,  or  have  we  lost  them  ?' — Alford. 


Submit  thyself  to  God, 
And  thou  shalt  find 

He  fights  the  battles 
Of  a  will  resigned. 


VI. 

COLLEGE   LIFE,    1883-1884. 

The  interest  of  returning  to  Cambridge  in  October 
1883  was  greatly  increased  by  his  brother  Neil 
entering  Pembroke  College  at  this  time.  Harry 
had  moved  to  other  lodgings,  to  be  near  him,  and 
three  delightful  terms  the  brothers  had  together, 
enjoying  the  constant  in  and  out  companionship 
to  which  they  had  long  looked  forward.  Seeing 
much  of  each  other's  friends  also  proved  a  great 
pleasure  and  advantage  to  them.  But  no  interrup- 
tion in  the  necessary  time  for  work  was  indulged  in, 
and  the  wishes  expressed  in  the  next  letter  from 
home  were  more  than  fulfilled. 

I  feel  sure  that  you  will  all  be  filled  with  the  desire 
and  determination  to  go  in  more  and  more  for  thorough 
mental  culture.  David's  words  to  Araunah  struck  me 
very  much,  '  Neither  will  I  offer  burnt  offerings  unto  the 
Lord  my  God  of  that  which  doth  cost  me  nothing  ; ' 
they  seem  so  to  apply  themselves  to  our  common 
everyday  life,  and .  especially  to  your  Cambridge  time. 
Of  what  untold  value  are  these  weeks  and  months  ! 
Making  their  stamp,  and  leaving  their  mark  upon  your 
lives,  not  only  for  this  earthly  life,  but  for  eternity  !     As 


1 10  College  Life  xx.  2 

God  has  given  you  this  time  and  opportunity,  so  by 
utmost  diligence  and  labour,  with  self-denial,  to  be  able 
to  offer  Him  (when  the  time  comes)  minds  trained  to 
practical  usefulness  and  common-sense  earnestness,  as  well 
as  souls  filled  with  love  to  Him.  We  rejoice  to  see  your 
'  record  of  work,'  and  should  like  to  see  one  every  week. 
It  is  worth  your  while  to  put  your  strong  young  shoulders 
to  the  wheel.  I  hope  you  are  very  diligent  at  gym.  and 
other  exercise. 

More  recollections  written  by  friends  will  be 
found  interspersed  with  Harry's  own  letters  ;  as 
the  following,  from  one  who  had  known  him  while 
in  the  Navy  : — 

I  had  the  great  privilege  of  being  up  at  Cambridge 
with  him  for  one  term,  and  I  shall  never  forget  what  a 
rejoicing  Christian  he  was.  I  never  heard  him  say  a  hard 
or  unkind  word  of  anybody  :  and  in  everything  he  did, 
he  was  always  so  thorough  and  whole-hearted  that  it- 
was  a  great  pleasure  to  be  with  him. 

He  seemed  so  entirely  to  cast  all  his  care  upon  the 
Lord,  and  was  always  bright. 

Another  says : — 

We  went  out  by  twos  one  bright  afternoon,  to  leave 
letters  announcing  a  mission.  He  and  I  agreed  to  go 
together  to  two  of  the  rowdiest  colleges.  He  went  to  all 
the  rooms  on  one  staircase,  and  I  on  another. 

He  disappeared  for  some  time,  and  I  was  beginning 
to  wonder  where  he  was,  when  he  came  out  looking  con- 
siderably amused.     He  told  me  that  in  one  room   he 


An  Interview  \  \  r 


found  a  party  of  men  drinking  wine,  he  just  mentioned 
the  name  of  the  host,  and  then  left  the  room.  On 
coming  down  from  some  of  the  top  rooms,  he  found  one 
of  the  party  awaiting  his  appearance,  who  asked  him  to 

come  in  again,  as  Mr. wished  lo  speak  to  him. 

Quite  expecting  a  troublesome  altercation,  he  begged  to 
be  excused,  as  he  had  so  many  other  rooms  to  visit  ;  but 
on  being  repeatedly  pressed,  he  followed  the  messenger, 
only  to  find  the  host  reclining  in  an  arm-chair,  with  the 
opened  letter  in  his  hand  which  had  evidently  been  the 
subject  of  discussion. 

If  the  reader  knew  the  contents  of  that  printed  letter, 
he  would  not  be  surprised  if  some  opposition  had  been 
provoked  against  its  bearer.  But  being  only  pressed  to 
take  a  glass  of  wine  in  the  politest  manner,  Harry  Mac 
Innes  was  able  to  decline  in  the  same  friendly  way  and 
leave.  Whether  it  was  his  calm,  quiet  manner  or 
some  other  yet  greater  power,  we  cannot  tell.  But  this  we 
know,  that  on  the  last  night  of  these  meetings  that  same 
party  of  men  came  to  the  crowded  hall,  and  remained 
afterwards  in  long  and  earnest  talk  with  the  missioners. 

God  grant  that  the  call  which  then  sounded 
lovingly  in  those  hearts  :  '  Awake  thou  that  sleepest, 
and  arise  from  among  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall 
give  thee  light,'  may  not  have  been  in  vain  ! 

In  the  following  letters  to  a  brother  at  school, 
Harry  alludes  to  the  Scripture  Union  portion  which 
he  read  in  common  with  many  others.  The 
object  of  this  Union  is  to  promote  systematic 
Bible-reading    among  'young  people,  schoolboys, 


I  12 


College  Life 


JET.   20 


etc'  The  daily  reading  is  taken  sometimes  con- 
secutively from  a  Gospel,  and  sometimes  from  the 
Books  of  the  Old  Testament,  varied  by  occcasional 
Psalms.  All  the  members  have  a  card  on  which 
the  portion,  of  about  twelve  verses,  is  marked. 
The  card  can  be.  obtained  from  Mr.  T.  B.  Bishop, 
48  Paternoster  Row. 


77*  £  0/<J?  Court  of  Tri?iity  College. 

Cambridge,  October  1883.—  ....  Don't  be  dis- 
couraged if  you  find  Ezra  more  difficult,  it  is  all  about 
the  Temple  building,  etc.  Let  us  remember  as  we  read, 
we  who  are  Christians  have  ashare  in  building  up  God's 
temple,  or  kingdom.  .  .  . 

And  later: — 

I  send   you  a  few   more  notes,  I  only   wish  I  had 


AT.  20  Bible  Study  1 i 3 


finished  what  I  meant  to  do.     I  quite  like  doing  them  ; 
they  seem  to  help  me  too,  as  I  go  along. 

A  few  of  the  '  notes '  he  referred  to  are  given 
here : — 

Notes  on  Bible-Reading  Union  Portions. 
{November  13. —  1  Sam.  v.  1-8.) 

Dagon  was  one  of  the  Philistines'  greatest  idols,  yet 
it  could  not  stand  before  the  Ark  of  God.  We  see  here, 
that  in  our  case  it  isn't  the  struggling  on  our  part  that 
will  get  rid  of  any  idol,  but  just  that  it  ?nust  go  if  The 
Ark  (Jesus  Christ)  is  dwelling  in  our  temples.  Are  we 
not  called  'Temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost '  (1  Cor.  vi.  19)? 
What  an  honour  this  is. 

Notice  how  Philistines  acknowledged  the  God  of 
Israel,  verse  7.  Verse  6,  'the  hand  of  the  Lord'  destroys 
them — so  our  enemies.  'I  will  trust,  and  not  be  afraid.' 
(Is.  xii.  2.) 

{November  15.  —  1  Sam.  vii.) 

Verse  3.     So  much  is  contained  in  this  verse. 
Note  the  three  things  God  required  of  the  Israelites. 

1.  '  Put  away  the  strange  gods.' 

2.  '  Prepare  your  hearts  unto  the  Lord.' 

3.  '  Serve  Him  on/j'.' 

We  find  in  verse  6  they  acknowledged  their  sins,  and 
in  verse  9,  when  Samuel  offered,  '  the  Lord  heard  him.' 
Their  prayer  was  answered. 

I  think  those  three  things  above  might  be  grand 
mottoes  for  us  (note  especially  the  order  in  which  they 
come). 

I 


1 14  College  Life 


The  Israelites  obeyed,  and  look  at  the  grand  results. 
Victory  over  their  enemies,  verses  10,  11. 

(December  4. — 1  Sam  xvii.  1-16.) 

Notice  the  description  of  Goliath.  How  complete 
appeared  to  be  his  armour  ;  but  we  shall  see  later  how 
little  it  helped  him. 

Goliath,  as  a  Philistine,  was  an  enemy  of  God. 

Verse  n. — '  Saul  and  all  Israel'  were  frightened  at 
once  ;  how  little  their  faith  was.  And  we  do  not  read 
of  their  doing  what  they  should  have  done,  crying  to 
God  for  help  and  assistance. 

Verse  16. — The  Philistine  was  allowed  by  God  to 
draw  near  for  forty  days.  It  was  not  the  Lord's  will 
that  he  should  be  conquered  at  once.  So  we  must 
expect  God  to  try  our  faith. 

{December  7. — 1  Sam.  xvii.  43-58.) 

Verse  45. — How  are  we  going  to  follow  David's  ex- 
ample ?  Let  us  just  stop  and  think  if  we  really  do  meet 
our  difficulties,  '  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts' 

Verse  46. — And  have  we  this  confidence  ?  '  This  day 
will  the  Lord  deliver  thee.' 

Verse  48. — Mark  !  David  '  ran  toward  the  army  to 
meet  the  Philistine  ! '  Yes,  even  when  we  have  asked 
God  to  help  us,  we  draw  back  sometimes,  don't  we? 

Verse  51. —  David  not  only  stunned  Goliath,  but 
killed  him.  We  must  kill  too,  that  these  giants  may  not 
/rouble  us  again. 

hi  a  letter  to  a  younger  Sister. 

November  13. — I  wonder  if  you  are  getting  on  very 
fast  at  the  piano?  I  am  afraid  I'm  not  !  I  have  a  lesson 


Village  Gathering  \  \  c 


three  days  in  the  week,  and  am  supposed  to  practise  on 
the  other  days  ;  but  I  expect  it  will  take  a  good  deal  of 
practice  to  get  into  the  way  at  all.  I  have  begun  to  learn 
'What  a  friend  we  have  in  Jesus,'  it  is  an  easy  tune. 
Isn't  it  a  most  wonderful  privilege  to  be  able  to  say  those 
words  ?  We  ought  to  try  and  carry  them  about  with  us 
all  day  long. 

To  a  Friend. 

Fern  Lodge,  Hampstead,  December  25,  1883. — 
Last  Thursday  and  Friday  some  of  us  were  down  at 
Stepney,  hearing  Moody,  who  has  now  just  finished  his 
meetings  there.  As  usual  his  addresses  were  most  stir- 
ring ;  there  always  seems  to  be  a  wonderful  freshness 
about  each  one. 

Yesterday  I  went  down  there  again,  to  help  in  a  tea 
intended  for  men  only.  A  great  number  were  there. 
Afterwards  several  spoke,  including  Studd,  telling  them 
of  an  intended  mission  for  men,  to  carry  on  the  work 
begun,  and  also  entreating  them  really  to  help  them- 
selves, in  it.  There  have  been  several  Cambridge  men 
down  there  helping. 

In  January  1884,  during  the  winter  vacation, 
there  was  a  social  village  gathering  at  Rickerby. 
Several  young  friends  were  invited  to  contribute 
to  the  amusement  of  the  company.  All  remember 
his  fun  and  merriment  during  the  evening  (espe- 
cially over  the  duet  '  Chopsticks  '  he  played  with 
his  youngest  brother),  but  far  more  the  deep 
earnestness  with  which,  before  the  party  broke  up 

1  2 


n6  College  Life 


a  few  words  from  him  followed  his  father's  address. 
The  following  is  a  letter  referring  to  this  evening  : — 

Of  course  you  will  remember  how  he  said,  '  probably 
next  Christmas  some  of  us  may  have  been  called  away, 
and  may  never  meet  again  all  together.'  The  general 
impression  left  on  my  mind  was  of  an  earnest  appeal  to 
all  who  were  not  ready  to  die,  and  had  not  found  Christ. 
A  sort  of  last  appeal,  one  might  almost  say,  as  if  he  felt 
here  was  an  opportunity  to  ask  those  who  were  present,  if 
they  had  found  the  great  and  intense  happiness  he  had 
found,  by  living  only  for  Christ.  I  remember  his  saying 
that  he  had  never  known  true  happiness  till  the  last  few 
years,  when  he  had  given  himself  to  his  Saviour.  And 
then  too,  asking  all  not  to  delay,  but  to  begin  at  once, 
that  putting  off,  they  might  be  too  late.  I  think  it  was 
his  extreme  earnestness  that  struck  me  most. 

Writing  to  send  birthday  wishes  to  an  aunt, 
Harry  says,  on  February  6  :  'It  is  indeed  one  of 
our  many  mercies  that  we  are  spared  to  each  other 
year  after  year.' 

The  next  little  extract  from  one  of  his  letters 
refers  to  some  very  helpful  gatherings  which  had 
been  held  in  his  rooms. 

To  his  Mother. 

This  morning  we  had  a  7  a.m.  meeting,  and  a  good 
many  turned  up.  I  am  sure  this  term  will  e?iergise  our 
life,  in  our  reading  as  well  as  other  things. 

A  friend  not  in  the  same  '  set '  gives  the  follow- 


Moral  Courage  1 1 7 


ing  testimony  to  the  impression  made  on  him  by 
Harry's  character. 

He  wrote,  directly  after  Harry's  death,  of  his 
1  respect  and  admiration '  for  him,  on  this  ground, 
that  '  his  thoroughly  good  and  useful  life  did  not 
prevent  his  being  a  most  genial,  bright,  and  pleasant 
companion.' 

And,  later  : — 

I  do  hope  you  will  bring  out  in  his  character  the 
combination  of  thorough  geniality  with  true  religion.  I 
don't  know  why  it  was,  but  while  I  was  at  Cambridge  it 
was  always  felt  that  such   a   combination   did  not  exist, 

but  I  never  saw  better  examples  than  Harry  and . 

Of  course  since  I  left  Cambridge  ideas  may  have  changed 
owing  to  the  examples  of  Studd  and  others — but  I  am 
sure  it  is  always  a  good  thing  for  worldly  young  men  to 
call  attention  to  the  possibility,  of  being  a  perfect  gentle- 
man (I  mean  in  the  worldly  sense  of  the  word)  at  the 
same  time  as  a  truly  religious  man. 

The  part  that  he  took  in  the  religious  movements 
at  Cambridge  bears  witness,  amongst  those  who  know 
Cambridge  life,  to  a  life  of  continued  neglect  of  self  and 
moral  courage.  The  carrying  of  notices  of  meetings 
and  sermons  into  any  one's  room  is,  to  my  mind,  a 
mark  of  great  courage.  But  my  position  at  Cambridge 
made  his  care  for  me  more  than  ordinarily  brave.  I  had 
many  acquaintances  in  a  really  fast  'set,' and  certainly  did 
not  myself  keep  quite  out  of  it.  Harry  knew  this  well, 
and,  instead  of  any  shyness,  any  shrinking  from  fear  of 
what  might  be  said,  redoubled  his  care  for  me.     He 


n8  College  Life 


often  came  into  my  room,  begging  me  to  come  to  some 
meeting  ;  often  he  found  there  men  who,  I  am  sure  he 
knew,  would  have  burst  out  laughing  at  him,  as  soon  as 
his  back  was  turned,  had  they  not  known  he  was  my 
friend.  On  one  occasion  specially,  I  had  a  large  break- 
fast party,  there  was  to  be  a  meeting  that  day,  held  by  a 
man  who  had  formerly  led  a  very  bad  life,  had  been  con- 
verted, and  now  works  much  to  do  good  amongst  under- 
graduates. Harry  came  into  my  room,  and  had  the  pluck 
to  speak  of  such  things  before  a  company  which  he  must 
have  known  rather  mocked  at  religion.  He  was  success- 
ful, and  three  of  us  went  to  the  meeting,  and  I  for  one 
felt  better  for  it  (as  I  always  did  after  a  visit  from  him). 
This  is  only  one  instance  among  many.  I  don't  think 
any  one  who  does  not  know  university  life  can  appreciate 
properly  the  pluck  required  for  such  a  life  as  Harry's. 

H.  M.  1,  to  his  Mother  (then  at  Hyeres). 

5  Market  Hill,  March  2,  1884. 

Dearest  Mother, — It  was  very  nice  to  hear  of  your 
journey  and  arrival  at  Hyeres.  I  have  a  faint  recollec- 
tion of  those  places,  as  I  was  there  in  July  1880.  We 
were  delighted  with  the  flowers  Grace  sent ;  the  narcissi 
have  been  looking  wonderfully  fresh.  The  Lent  races 
have  been  on  this  week  ;  I  went  down  on  Thursday  and 
ran  with  the  boats. 

There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  talk  up  here  lately 
on  the  subject  of  holiness  ;  of  course  some  have  been 
inclined  to  oppose,  but  still  a  great  many  have  been 
helped  in  one  way  or  another,  and  have  thought  over 
the  subject  a  great  deal.     There  has  been  started  lately 


Brickfields  1 1 9 


a  7  a.m.  prayer- meeting  in  my  rooms,  every  Thursday 
morning,  which  has  been  made  a  very  real  time. 

And  the  '  Morning  Watch  '  Union  has  been  started 
here,  and  men  are  feeling  the  importance  of  having  a 
good  quiet  time  first  thing  in  the  morning.  So  I  am 
sure,  altogether,  we  have  a  great  deal  to  thank  God  for, 
but  holiness  is  to  be  lived  more  than  anything  else. 
('Thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.')  This  afternoon  Kidd  and  I 
went  down  to  see  one  of  our  brickfield  men  in  his 
home,  we  had  a  blessed  time,  and  both  he  and  his 
father  appeared  to  seek  and  find  forgiveness  while  we 
were  there.  I  think  they  have  both  been  groping  for 
some  time  in  the  dark.   .  .  . 

Your  loving  Son, 

Harry. 

From  D.  A.  Kidd,  Oct.  1 884. 

Cambridge. — Eleven  years  ago  we  met.  It  was  at 
Rottingdean  School,  where  we  were  always  good  friends. 
Nearly  every  one  was  a  friend  of  '  Mac's,'  his  good  nature 
won  their  friendship.  In  October  1882  we  met  up  here, 
our  first  night  of  the  term.  We  chatted  of  past  days  ;  but 
soon  found  out  we  had  more  in  common  than  memories 
of  old  times.  We  found  out  that  we  were  friends  for 
eternity,  and  so  we  naturally  drew  close  to  one  another. 

We  often  spent  much  time  in  prayer  and  Bible-study, 
and  decided  to  take  some  active  work  together.  This 
drew  us  closer  to  one  another,  for  how  closely  God's 
children  are  united  ! 

Many  an  afternoon  was  saddened  as  we  found  how 
hardened   the  men    in  the   brickfield   were,    which    we 


1 20  College  Life  mt.  20 


visited  together.  Many  an  afternoon  was  gladdened  as 
we  saw  signs  of  softening  and  several  evident  tokens  of 
changed  hearts.  We  were  much  interested  in  one  case. 
This  man  was  often  drunk,  and  we  determined,  by  God's 
grace,  to  stop  this.  Many  a  Sunday  afternoon  we  visited 
him,  lead  the  Bible,  prayed,  entreated  him  to  give  it  up, 
as  God  could  give  him  strength.  (We  always  kept  in 
mind  that  the  real  power  must  come  from  a  real  union 
with  a  risen  Saviour.)  We  found  him  often  quite  deliri- 
ous ;  he  would  beat  his  wife  and  break  his  furniture.  So 
we  went  to  a  doctor  to  ask  him  to  do  what  he  could,  as 
the  man  showed  signs  of  attempting  suicide.  However, 
much  could  not  be  done.  Then,  at  the  end  of  last  term, 
we  spoke  of  the  probability  of  some  of  us  not  meeting 
till  the  last  day.  Little  did  we  think  who  was  to  be  taken 
away ! 

Yesterday  I  went  to  the  brickfield  alone.  As  I 
passed  the  public-houses  where  Harry  loved  to  give  away 
papers,  I  felt  most  keenly  that  an  accustomed  friend 
had  gone. 

The  men  noticed  that  I  was  alone.  '  Where  is  the 
other  gentleman  ?  isn't  he  well  ? ' 

'  Oh  yes,'  I  said,  '  he  is  very  well.' 

'  I  suppose  he  hasn't  come  up  this  term  then  ? ' 

'  No,  he  has  been  called  Home,  and  is  perfectly  happy 
now.' 

It  was  striking  to  see  the  effect  on  different  men. 
Some  took  no  notice  at  all,  just  as  though  he  were 
nothing  to  them.  Others  said,  '  How  strange,  I  can't  help 
thinking  of  him  ;  he  was  a  real  good  gentleman,  he  was.' 
The  drunkard  we  were  interested  in  was  much  struck. 

For  about  a  fortnight  he  has  given  up  drink,  and 


jet.  20  Thursday  Mornings  1 2 1 

says,   '  I  should  like  to  be  prepared,   lest  I  am  called 
away  soon.' 

Surely  God  will  hear  the  prayer  of  His  child,  surely 
those  prayers  of  his  will  one  day  be  answered.  Yes, 
'  he  being  dead,  yet  speaketh,'  by  his  consistent  life,  and 
by  his  death.  And  I  am  confident  that  God  will  draw 
many  of  those  hardened  hearts  to  Himself. 

Mr.  H.  E.  Bishop,  a  friend  of  Harry's,  thus  speaks 
of  the  helpful  character  of  the  weekly  meetings  : — 

Christ's  College,  1884.— The  Thursday  morning  meet- 
ings were  continued  weekly  amongst  ourselves  in  Harry 
Mac  Innes'  rooms,  and  most  helpful  they  were  ;  and  I 
believe  very  useful  in  bringing  Christians  together.  One 
friend  of  mine  I  took  once,  and  he  prayed  there  in  a 
way  in  which  I  had  never  heard  him  do  before  ;  he,  I 
am  sure,  derived  great  blessing  from  it.  He  was  drowned 
at  Tenby,  a  few  weeks  before  the  death  of  Harry  Mac 
Innes. 

Before  I  left,  Harry  expressed  his  intention  of  taking 
care  next  term  to  let  more  know  about  the  meeting,  and 
of  trying  to  get  them  to  come.  But  just  then  his  studies 
prevented  him  from  giving  the  time  to  it.  In  April  I 
received  a  letter  from  him  about  some  services  for  College 
servants,  which  we  had  talked  about  in  the  previous 
term,  and  which  he  had  urged  me  to  work.  I  quote 
from  this  letter  : — 

'  It  is  very  kind  of  you  to  tell  me  of  this  opening  for 
work  amongst  College  servants,  as  it  certainly  is  a  most 
important  one.  When  one  feels  how  much  one  is  thrown 
with,  and  noticed  by  them  day  by   day,  we  do  indeed 


122  College  Life  jet.  20 

need  to  take  it  to  the  Lord,  that  He  may  be  glorified  in 
everything  that  is  done  in  this  matter.' 

He  then  suggests  several  things  about  the  working  of 
the  services. 

I  did  not  see  much  of  him  last  term,  save  at  the 
Thursday  morning  meetings,  as  he  stuck  most  conscien- 
tiously to  his  work  for  the  '  General  Exam.' 


The    following-    extract    is     from     a    friend's 


letter  :- 


You  know  the  story  of  the  woman,  who,  after  various 
misfortunes,  found  herself  in  a  strange  place,  without  a 
farthing  in  her  pocket,  raining,  and  nowhere  to  go  ?  In- 
stead of  being  bewildered  and  miserable,  she  stood  still 
and  said  :  '  What  a  grand  opportunity  for  trusting  the 
Lord  ! '  and  never  shall  I  forget  Harry's  delighted  look, 
almost  of  triumph,  over  that  story  ! 

This  joyful  trust  was  the  spirit  of  his  life  ;  he 
seemed  to  find  in  everything  '  a  grand  opportunity 
for  trusting  the  Lord.' 

Again,  from  Lawrence  Carr  : — 

Harry  gave  us  a  verse  at  one  of  the  meetings,  which 
he  said  had  been  given  him  as  a  definition  of  conversion. 
Acts  xxvi.  18.  'To  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them 
from  darkness  to  light  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
God,  that  they  may  receive  forgiveness  of  sins.'  I  re- 
member watching  him  very  closely  at  this  time,  when  I 
went  up  to  Rickerby,  and  certainly  the  power  of  God 
was  very  manifest  in  his  life,  in  little  everyday  things. 


JET.   20 


Easter  Vacation 


Again,  from  another  friend  : — 

I  do  thank  God  that  I  knew  Harry  and  saw  in  him 
that  a  young  man  may  be  a  spiritually  minded  Christian, 
and  yet  not  lose  one  atom  of  his  manliness,  and  pleasure 
in  manly  sports. 

Harry  writes  to  a  friend  with  whom  he  had 
stayed  at  the  beginning  of  the  Easter  vacation  :  — 

Rickerby,  April  9. —  .  .  .  The  Carrs  have  been  staying 
here,  and  we  have  managed  to  get  some  reading  done 
in  the  mornings.  Now  Hooper  is  here,  we  met  him  at 
Penrith  when  we  went  off  for  a  three-days'  walk  in  the 
lakes  (up  Helvellyn,  then  on  from  Grasmere  up  one  of 
the  Langdale  Pikes,  etc)  We  have  been  talking  a  bit 
about  next  term.  I  am  sure  we  ought  to  be  'going 
ahead '  after  the  impetus  of  last  term  ;  but  still  we  all 
individually  want  the  motive  power  day  by  day,  of  which 
there  is  such  a  mighty  supply  always  at  hand.  '  God  is 
able  to  make  all  grace  abound.' 

Our  part  surely  is  to  believe,  and  then  take  God  at 
His  word.  We  have  a  small  meeting  to  morrow  evening 
for  some  lads  in  a  village  near  here.     Remember  us. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by 
his  father  is  almost  prophetic  in  its  foreshadowing, 
and  tells  of  the  close  of  the  last  holidays  the  four 
brothers  enjoyed  together  : — 

Rickerby,  April  19. — Those  two  dear  brothers  went 
off  by  the  8.40  train  (to  Cambridge)  this  morning,  after 
a  most  happy  time  here.    Our  last  day  at  Brackenthwaite 


124  College  Life  jet.  20 

was  a  delightful  wind-up,  but  I  felt  it  solemn,  as  we  all 
five  raced  down  the  fell  together,  and  I  thought  of  the 
inevitable  changes  which  a  few  years  must  bring. 

The  following  letter  to  his  Mother  abroad, 
after  his  return  to  Cambridge,  refers  to  a  subject 
he  and  his  parents  often  talked  over.  Heartily 
responding  to  their  wish,  that  he  should  look  upon 
mental  discipline  as  the  first  object  to  be  gained 
by  University  life,  and  fully  understanding  that 
the  want  of  it  would  hinder  after  usefulness,  he 
did  not  allow  any  interest,  even  religious  work, 
to  interfere  with  regular  reading.  This  was  not 
always  easy,  but  he  was  faithful  to  his  determina- 
tion. 

Market  Hill,  April  20,  1884.— We  certainly  had  a 
grand  vac,  and  I  feel  quite  set  up  after  it. 

As  to  the  C.  M.  U.  work,  and  other  of  that  kind, 
there  will  be  only  one  meeting  to  arrange  for  this  term, 
as  we  do  not  have  one  every  Monday  as  last  term,  and 
perhaps  one  or  two  Committee  meetings,  so  that,  you  see, 
the  work  will  be  very  little.  But  of  course  next  term 
there  will  be  a  good  deal  to  do,  and  if  I  resign,  I  should 
have  to  give  notice  this  term.  I  am  sure  we  may  ask  for 
distinct  guidance  in  this  matter  ;  and  nothing  need  be 
settled  at  once.  I  know  we  should  put  our  reading  in  its 
right  place  here,  and  of  course  I  feel  the  danger  of  not 
doing  so.  I  am  very  glad  we  did  some  at  home,  as  I 
have  no  time  to  lose,  and  know  that  it  must  be  real  hard 
work  these  weeks. 


alt.  20  Brackcnthwaite  125 

You  will  have  heard  of  most  of  our  doings  ;  Hooper 
went  off  on  Wednesday.  On  Friday  we  had  a  charming 
expedition  to  the  fell,  Rennie  as  usual  in  tremendous 
spirits,  we  had  a  long  walk,  and  came  down  to  a  delicious 
tea  at  Brackenthwaite. 


Mr.  D.  A.  Hooper,  one  of  Harry's  most  inti- 
mate friends,  and  now  a  missionary  in  Central 
Africa,  thus  gives  his  recollections  of  this  time  : — 

The  thought  of  having  one  definite  purpose  was  very 
present  to  him.  '  Forgetting  those  things  that  are  be- 
hind I  press  forward.'  We  always  had  the  thought '  better 
things  on  before '  between  us,  and  whenever  one  was  at 
all  disappointed,  or  very  happy  over  some  fresh  victory, 
it  was  the  usual  thing  for  the  other  to  say,  '  Well,  there 
are  better  things  on  before.'  He  would  say,  l  You  know, 
1  don't  do  half  enough,'  and  yet  he  would  not  stop  long 
thinking  of  failures,  remembering  that  the  past  was  for- 
given, 'let  us  have  some  prayer,  we  want  more  prayer.' 
It  was  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception  for  us  to  pray 
together  whenever  we  met  alone. 

I  have  never  known  any  one  who  was  always  so 
cheerful,  and  at  the  same  time  who  always  had  the 
thought  of  his  own  unworthiness  and  weakness  before 
his  eyes.  Although  I  saw  him  nearly  every  day  for  the 
last  two  terms,  I  never  saw  him  unhappy  or  cast  down, 
and  seldom  did  we  meet  without  some  joke  coming  out. 
When  out  for  a  walk  one  afternoon  our  conversation 
turned  on  our  future  prospects.  He  seemed  to  have  no 
plans,  just  saying  that  the  way  would  be  opened.  1  never 
met  a  man  who  spoke  more  about  his  fathers  wishes. 


126  College  Life  jet.  20 

One  of  the  last  instances,  being  that  he  might  have  to 
give  up  the  secretaryship  of  the  C.  M.  U.,  in  order  to 
read  harder  ;  and  often  he  would  refer  to  his  father's 
wishes,  saying  he  would  do  this,  or  leave  off  that.  One 
of  our  last  united  efforts  was  to  storm  the  market-place 
one  Saturday  afternoon  when  it  was  crowded,  and  dis- 
tribute tracts,  but  he  always  made  a  point  of  not  leaving 
men  in  his  own  station  to  work  amongst  the  poor  ex- 
clusively, a  mistake  rather  common  up  here. 

Mr.  A.  T.  Polhill  Turner,  who  has  since  gone 
as  a  missionary  to  China  with  Mr.  Stanley  Smith, 
Mr.  C.  E.  T.  Studd,  and  others,  writes  : — 

During  the  summer  vacation  of  1883  we  were  at  Scar- 
borough together,  where  his  light  heart  was  the  life  of 
the  party. 

His  last  visit  to  my  rooms,  the  last  day  of  May  term, 
we  reviewed  our  past  happy  term,  and  agreed  on  the 
necessity  of  living  with  a  single  eye  to  God's  glory. 

Once  again  that  day,  I  met  him,  tor  the  last  time,  and 
he  repeated  the  question  he  had  previously  asked  me, 
'  Will  you  come  with  me  to  Switzerland  ? ' 

Going  back  to  one  morning  during  the  October  term 
last  year,  he  came  round  to  my  rooms  and  said,  '  Will 
you  come  up  to  town  to-day,  to  hear  Mrs.  Booth  at  Exeter 
Hall  ?  '  I  mentioned  several  engagements,  to  which  he 
replied  :  '  Do  as  I  do,  make  up  your  mind  to  go,  and 
then  meet  your  difficulties  afterwards.'  We  went  with 
another  Trinity  friend.  Harry  was  specially  in  great 
spirits  ;  full  of  life  and  joy.  Whenever  I  went  round  to 
see  him  of  an  evening,  I  was  sure  to  be  warmed  up  by  it, 
and  we  almost  invariably  had  prayer  together. 


^et.  20  Close  of  Last  Term  127 

He  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  work  of  the 
Salvation  Army,  not  from  sudden  impulse,  but 
from  practical  knowledge  of  the  good  being  done 
by  them  ;  and  though  not  agreeing  with  some  of 
their  methods,  he  heartily  admired  their  self-denial 
and  consistency  of  life. 

The  labours  also  of  a  noble  band  of  men  and 
women,  who  had  for  long  been  striving  to  raise 
the  standard  of  social  purity  throughout  the 
country,  called  forth  his  earnest  sympathy.  He 
kept  the  small  publications  of  the  White  Cross 
Army,  etc.,  by  him,  and  felt  it  a  privilege  in  any 
way  to  help  on  the  cause. 

By  the  last  day  of  May  the  '  General '  exami- 
nation was  over,  and  till  the  end  of  term  he  had 
more  time  for  the  happy  intercourse  with  friends, 
which  proved  to  be  his  last  on  earth.  They  had 
much  cause  to  thank  God  ;  for  while  mental  culture 
had  been  diligently  carried  on,  and  good  steady 
work  had  been  done,  they  had  been  taught  more 
fully  that  holiness  (or  wholeness)  of  life,  described 
in  Psalm  xxiv.  as  '  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart,' 
means  hatred  of  every  tendency  to  evil,  a  determina- 
tion that  God  should  have  His  way  unhindered, 
and  that  His  Spirit  only  should  reign  in  the 
daily  hourly  life. 


128  College  Life 


Fern  Lodge,  June  I,  1884  (Whit  Sunday). 

Dearest  Mother, — It  seems  a  longtime  since  I  wrote  to 
you,  but  now  I  ought  to  have  plenty  of  time  for  it.  First, 
about  your  letter  and  the  plans,  it  will  be  delightful  to 
be  with  you  quietly,  and  I  am  very  glad  I  waited  before 
settling  anything.  As  to  getting  somebody  to  read  with 
me  in  Switzerland,  I  am  rather  doubtful,  but  I  will  try 
on  getting  back  to  Cambridge.  I  really  must  try  to  do 
some  reading  this  '  Long,'  and  hope  I  shall  have  father's 
advice  about  the  '  Special'  Political  Economy  would 
be  very  useful,  and  two  or  three  have  advised  me  to  go 
in  for  it.  When  I  arrived  here  on  Friday,  I  found  all 
gone  to  Moody's  meeting  (near  Lambeth),  so  I  followed, 
and  there  met  two  or  three  friends.  Yesterday  morning, 
Petter  and  I  went  to  Lord's  to  see  the  finish  of  '  Aus- 
tralians ?'.  England,'  and  then,  after  going  round  by  the 
scenes  of  the  dreadful  explosions,  Scotland  Yard  and  St. 
James's  Square,  to  the  Health  Exhibition — very  interest- 
ing, more  so,  I  thought,  than  '  the  Fisheries.'  This  morn- 
ing to  early  Communion,  and  Petter  and  I  are  thinking  of 
walking  down  to  an  open-air  service  in  Hyde  Park. 

Monday. — I  am  not  going  back  to  Cambridge  till  this 
afternoon  in  time  to  help  Neil  a  bit  with  some  of  his 
exam  subjects.  We  enjoy  Grace's  description  of  your 
life  at  Homburg,  minus  the  'eggy  '  water,  which  I  intend 
to  sign  the  pledge  against,  before  I  come  out  to  you,  as 
they  say  I  look  far  too  well  for  anything  of  that  sort. 
Petter  and  I  had  a  wonderfully  interesting  time  yesterday 
p.m.  A  pleasant  walk  down  to  Hyde  Park  to  '  the  open 
air,'  where  we  found,  to  our  surprise,  Stanley  Smith  among 
others.  After  the  meeting  they  asked  us  to  go  with 
them  to  '  the  chairs  '  (by  Rotten  Row).     We  had  a  glorious 


If  7i it  Sunday  1 2  9 


time.  After  more  prayer  on  the  way,  we  felt  God  would 
bless,  and  began  to  sing  at  the  back  of  the  chairs.  It  was 
a  little  time  before  people  listened  much,  but  soon  a  great 
many  stopped,  and  several  ladies  and  gentlemen  came 
and  sat  on  chairs  near.  Stanley  Smith  and  two  others 
spoke  ;  the  words  were  indeed  with  power,  and  many 
looked  very  much  interested.  We  came  away  about 
six  in  the  evening  ;  heard  a  splendid  sermon  from  Mr. 
E.  W.  Moore  on  Isaiah  xi.  upon  the  Holy  Spirit  resting 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     I  must  now  finish. 

Your  loving  Son, 

Harry. 

From  a  Friend. 

It  seems  only  like  yesterday,  since  that  week  in  June, 
when  going  to  the  Senate  house  to  see  if  the  '  list '  was 
out,  I  met  Harry,  and  he  burst  out  in  his  usual  way — '  Isn't 
it  grand  ?  Watson  has  got  a  first  class  ! '  Then  he  told  me 
that  he  himself  was  through,  and  was  off  next  day  on  his 
way  to  join  you  abroad. 

From  Edward  J.  Church. 

October  2,  1884. — I  don't  wish  that  this  letter  should 
be  an  encomium  of  his  good  deeds,  especially  as  this  is 
such  a  time  of  deep  sorrow  to  your  home,  and  as  there 
are  many  who  knew  him  more  intimately  than  I  did. 
But  I  should  like  to  say  that  I  knew  no  college  friend 
like  him,  who  though  in  the  world,  yet  lived  so  near  to 
the  next.  He  seemed  sometimes  to  have  glimpses  <>t 
whit  was  beyond,  which  gave  his  own  soul  inexpressible 
joy. 

K 


College  Life 


As  he  and  I  worked  some  of  our  subjects  for  the 
'  General '  together  last  term,  it  was  my  privilege  to 
witness  often  the  special  happiness  that  his  living  faith 
in  his  Saviour  afforded  him. 

I  had  hoped  our  friendship  might  ripen  more  this 
term,  when  he  was  to  take  possession  of  the  vacant 
rooms  on  our  staircase  in  'the  Master's  Court.' 

Harry  passed  the  '  General  '  Examination 
creditably,  and  it  having  been  fixed  that  he 
should  spend  the  Long  Vacation  with  his  mother, 
who  was  abroad  for  her  health,  he  arrived  at  Hom- 
burg  on  June  14. 

Early  in  July,  when  his  sisters  returned  to 
England,  he  went  on  with  his  mother  to  Gastein, 
in  the  Austrian  Tyrol,  and  thence  to  Switzerland. 


VII. 

LAST   LONG    VACATION. 

1884. 

The  Christian  who  is  most  in  close  communion  with  God,  will 
be  the  best  man  in  the  fight. 

He  who  has  taken  most  trouble  to  learn  his  drill,  may  be  ex- 
pected to  make  the  most  successful  attack  upon  the  enemy — the 
fact  that  he  has  learned  how  to  fight,  goes  a  great  way  towards 
teaching  him  HOW  to  win. 

This  is  especially  true  in  our  spiritual  warfare.  If  we  are  too 
lazy  to  pray — to  learn  from  God  something  of  our  enemy,  the  way 
to  meet  him,  to  engage,  and  to  conquer  him — we  shall  do  him  very 
little  harm,  win  very  mean  victories  ;  and  although  we  may  make 
graat  efforts,  and  engage  in  long  conflicts,  we  shall  '  so  fight  as  one 
that  beateth  the  air.' 


What  a  friend  we  have  in  Jesus, 

All  our  sins  and  griefs  to  bear  ! 
What  a  privilege  to  carry 

Ev'rything  to  God  in  prayer  ! 
Oh,  what  peace  we  often  forfeit, 

Oh,  what  needless  pain  we  bear — 
All  because  we  do  not  carry 

Ev'rything  to  God  in  prayer  ! 

Sacred  Songs  and  Solos. 
(From  one  of  H.  M.  I. 's  favourite  hymns.) 


VII. 

LAST   LONG   VACATION,    1 884 

SUNDAY,  June  I  5,  was  a  day  of  thankful  happiness 
to  the  little  party  at  Homburg.  In  the  late  after- 
noon Harry  had  a  long  walk  and  talk  with  his 
father,  in  the  course  of  which  they  spoke  of  his 
future  work  in  life.  He  said  he  saw  no  opening 
for  a  decision  at  present,  that  he  had  no  intention 
of  being  ordained,  but  if  he  were  to  be,  it  would 
be  for  a  missionary  life.  Monday  was  Harry's 
twenty-first  birthday  ;  his  father  had  to  start  late 
that  day  on  his  return  to  England. 

A  clergyman,  with  whom  Harry  made  ac- 
quaintance on  his  way  to  Homburg,  has  since 
written  : — 

"  October  8,  1884.— I  should  like  you  all  to  know  what 
a  pleasant  conversation  we  had  that  lovely  afternoon  on 
the  Rhine  steamer.  I  noticed  that  he  wore  the  blue 
ribbon,  and  this  led  to  our  talking  about  the  Temperance 
question  ;  and  from  that  we  went  on  to  mention  other 
Christian  work,  in  which  he  was  evidently  deeply  in- 
terested. When  the  journey  was  coming  to  an  end,  I 
asked  him  his  name,  and  he  told  me.  I  took  out  a  card 
to  show  him  mine,  which  he  took.      Had  it  not  been  tor 


134  Last  Long  Vacation  jet.  21 

this,  I  suppose  I  might  never  have  heard  of  his  having 
so  soon  been  taken  away. 

Even  through  the  short  acquaintance  that  we  were 
destined  to  have,  however,  I  trust  that  some  little  good 
may  have  been  done,  as  he  gave  us  from  that  same  bag 
(no  doubt)  in  which  the  card  was  found,  some  leaflets 
for  distribution.  They  were  published  by  the  Children's 
Mission,  some  in  German,  and  some  in  French.  I  am 
glad  to  think  that  we  used  them  all,  viz.  giving  them  to 
the  various  hotel  servants  who  waited  on  us,  as  we  had 
opportunity,  and  some  of  them  were  received  with  very 
great  pleasure. 

The  following  extract  is  from  a  letter  to  the 
servants  at  home,  acknowledging  the  present  of  a 
travelling-bag  given  for  his  twenty-first  birthday :  — 

17  Kisseleff  Strasse,Homburg,  June  16. — I  have  been 
wanting  to  write  before,  to  say  how  extremely  pleased 
and  surprised  I  was  on  opening  the  box  with  the  beauti- 
ful bag  from  you  all,  and  really  I  cannot  sufficiently 
thank  you  each  one  for  it,  and  the  very  kind  way  in  which 
you  have  remembered  me.  I  cannot  say  how  useful  it 
has  been  to  me  on  the  journey  out  here.  I  am  sure  you 
will  let  all  see  this,  that  I  may  thank  them  each  one  for 
having  given  me  such  a  nice  and  useful  present.  Above 
all,  it  is  so  nice  for  me  to  think  that  to-day  you  will  all 
be  uniting  in  prayer  that  God  may  be  with  me  ;  and  I 
am  sure  we  should,  as  each  year  comes  round,  gladly  and 
readily  give  that  year  into  our  Lord's  hands,  for  He 
spares  us  day  by  day  that  we  may  glorify  Him.  And  it 
is  on  our  walk  (for  our  souls  are  always  moving  in  some 


Homburg 


oD 


direction)  that  all  depends.  ...  I  know  you  would 
like  to  share  a  verse  in  the  '  Daily  Light '  for  to-day. 
Joshua  xxii.  5.  This  is  the  commandment,  and  surely 
if  we  fulfil  it,  Leviticus  xxvi.  3-12,  is  what  we  may  claim 
as  our  own  (verse  3,  '  If  ye  walk  in  My  statutes.'  .  .  . 
Verse  12, '  I  will  walk  among  you  and  will  be  your  God, 
and  ye  shall  be  My  people '). 

I  had  a  very  pleasant  journey  out  here,  for  all  the 
country  was  quite  new  to  me.  After  coming  by  Cologne 
and  sleeping  Friday  night  at  Coblentz,  I  came  up  the 
Rhine  by  steamer,  the  scenery  being  very  fine,  and  some 
old  castles  which  we  passed  looked  very  quaint,  and 
ancient,  also  I  was  struck  with  the  quantities  of  vines 
growing  all  up  the  hillsides.  Everything  seems  to  be 
very  forward  about  here,  the  corn  being  in  the  ear, 
and  hay  already  carried  in  many  places. 

From  his  little  Sister's  Recollections. 

Monday  was  his  birthday,  and  I  gave  him  a  bunch  of 
flowers  at  breakfast.  For  our  portion  we  read  the  '  going 
away  '  Psalm  (Ps.  cxxi.)  In  the  afternoon  we  went  to 
Frankfort  to  see  father  off ;  then  in  a  tram  to  the  Zoo, 
and  he  and  I  stood  in  front  with  the  driver. 

Front  Harry  to  a  Boy  at  School  with  whom  he  made 
friends  at  Scarborough. 

Homburg,  Germany,  June  21,  1884. 
You  will  be  surprised  to  see  me  writing  from  this  place, 
and  this  will  in  one  way  account  for  my  not  answering 
your  letter  before. 

I  left  Cambridge  a  few  days  after  I  received  yours, 
and  came  here  to  join  my  mother,  for  as  my  father  has 


136  Last  Long  Vacation  jet.  21 

now  returned  to  England,  I  am  wanted  with  her.  I  am 
afraid  I  shall  not  be  able  to  come  to  Scarborough  this 
year,  as  I  quite  expect  to  be  abroad  till  the  end  of 
August,  but  am  very  glad  you  will  be  there.  Yes,  we 
can  give  all  we  have  to  Christ,  that  it  may  be  used  for 
His  glory.  They  will  be  very  glad  if  you  can  help  them 
again.  I  hope  the  North  Shore  Service  will  continue 
and  prosper.  The  dear  Lord  has  been  teaching  me  so 
much  since  I  saw  you  last  summer,  showing  me  more 
than  I  ever  saw  before  of  His  power  to  save  us  to  the 
uttermost  from  present  sin,  as  well  as  from  hell.  It  is 
simply  wonderful  love  from  beginning  to  end,  is  it  not  ? 
I  was  so  glad  to  hear  from  you,  and  shall  think  of  you  in 
your  school  life,  and  then  '  all  things  work  together  for 
our  good.'  I  shall  pray  that  He  may  bless  you  there. 
We  just  need  to  wait  continually  on  Him,  to  show  us 
what  He  would  have  us  do.  I  suppose  your  holidays 
begin  about  the  end  of  next  month.  How  is  your 
brother  now?  Please  remember  me  warmly  to  him. 
We  have  had  a  lot  of  rain  here  lately.  Yesterday  I 
walked  to  the  town  of  Frankfort,  about  nine  miles  from 
here,  and  came  back  by  train.  There  are  a  lot  of 
English  people  here  taking  the  waters. 

The  same  friend  writes  after  Harry's  death  : — 

What  a  starry  crown  his  will  be  !  I  am  sure  there 
would  be  some  standing  at  the  beautiful  gate,  looking  out 
for  him. 

I  think  you  were  down  at  Scarborough  the  year  he 
was?  His  addresses  on  the  north  shore  were  such  a  help 
to  me,  for  I  had  only  just  given  my  heart  to  Jesus  a  few 


Gastein  1 3  7 


weeks  before,  and  he  helped  me  on.  I  only  heard  from 
him  in  July,  and  never  thought  then  he  would  never  write 
again.  He  was  a  friend  to  me  ;  one  who  led  me  more 
on  to  Jesus  than  any  one  ever  did  before.  I  do  thank 
God  for  the  day  I  met  him. 

He  always  was  so  jolly.  What  a  lesson  for  us  to  learn 
— never  to  seem  gloomy  ;  but  how  can  we,  when  we  have 
found  Him  Who  supplies  all  our  wants  ?  Vou  really 
cannot  tell  how  wonderfully  He  helps  me  from  day  to 
day  here.  This  is  a  barren  ground,  but  by  the  help  of 
God  I  will  work  for  Him  here. 

Extracts  from  Harry's  letters. 
Gastein,  July  14,  1884. — A  thunder-storm  has  just 
passed  over  us  ;  these  showers  seem  to  add  to  the  beauty  of 
the  grand  scenery.  On  Friday  we  drove  down  the  valley  ; 
and  when  mother  turned  back,  I  skirted  up  the  hillside, 
along  a  little  valley,  then  across  and  up  a  mountain,  and 
down  the  other  side,  which  brought  me  back  here.  It 
took  me  nearly  four  hours,  as  it  was  very  steep  and  through 
a  wood.  Above,  I  came  upon  a  quantity  of  Alpine 
rose,  walking  through  them  for  nearly  half  an  hour.  Wild 
flowers  seem  to  abound  here.  On  Saturday,  after  our 
usual  morning  reading,  I  settled  in  my  room  to  work,  and 
in  the  p.m.  we  went  a  little  way  up  the  hill  side  to  find 
a  saddle-horse  for  mother,  then  on  to  Rudolph's  Hohe, 
where  we  both  sat  and  sketched,  with  a  lovely  view  before 
us.  Yesterday  came  an  unexpected  telegram  from  Aunt 
Pris,  to  say  she  would  be  here  on  Thursday  for  a  week. 
It  is  delightful,  as  we  have  both  hoped  she  would  be 
able  to  come.  WTe  fancy  she  must  be  leaving  Bosnia 
to-day,  as  it  is  a  long  journey   here.     We   liked   those 


138  Last  Long  Vacation  jet.  21 

notes  of  Mr.  Jukes's  Bible-readmg  very  much,  what  a 
wonderful  subject  it  is  ! — the  fact  that  sanctification  is 
not  an  attainment,  but  simply  to  be  received,  or  rather 
to  receive  Him  into  our  hearts  by  faith.  This  has  been 
a  great  blessing  to  me  lately — obtained,  not  attained. 
Mother  has  ordered  a  horse  by  five  this  p.m.,  so  we  are 
hoping  it  will  clear  in  time. 

Gastein,  July  24. — On  Sunday  we  looked  out  upon 
heavy  snow  !  It  was  a  surprise,  indeed,  and  all  the  upper 
parts  of  the  mountains  we  could  see  were  covered  with 
snow.  On  Monday  the  German  Emperor  passed  us 
(Aunt  Pris  and  me).  She  made  a  very  low  curtsey,  I 
took  off  my  hat  rather  casually  (she  told  me  afterwards). 
We  often  see  from  the  Platz  his  dear  old  bald  head  at  a 
window  ;  he  looks  so  loving,  we  think.  In  the  p.m.  a 
little  excursion  was  planned  to  a  plateau  called  Nassfeld. 
After  about  half-an-hour's  drive  the  horse  was  saddled  for 
mother,  and  we  struck  up  into  a  fine  narrow  valley,  and 
ascended  for  about  two  hours,  a  herd  of  cows  and  calves, 
going  up  for  the  summer  pasturage,  keeping  us  back  rather. 

It  was  a  quaint  cavalcade,  the  calves'  tails  furnished  a 
support  for  Aunt  Pris  in  going  up  steep  bits.  We  passed 
two  fine  falls,  and  at  Nassfeld  there  was  a  grand  view 
of  a  great  snowy  top,  the  '  Schareck.'  At  a  shepherd's 
hut  where  we  rested — various  things  happened— a  young 
shepherd  was  sketched  by  mother,  and  he  went  into  fits 
of  laughter  over  it,  taking  off  her  book  to  show  his  pals. 
Then  a  lot  of  goats  scented  us  out ;  we  unwisely  tempted 
them  with  salt,  after  which  they  simply  besieged  us.  By 
my  aneroid  we  came  up  2,000  feet  from  Gastein. 

On  Wednesday  we  walked  up  a  most  lovely  valley 
(Anlaufthal),  mother  on  a  horse — very  fine  rocky  heights 


Gastein 


139 


with  trees  in  all  conceivable  places,  on  each  side — a 
racing  stream  all  the  way,  the  water  a  clear  green  in  the 
sun,  unless  churned  into  froth. 

Our  horse  is  quite  a  joke,  very  fat,  with  a  peculiar 
dislike  to  sunshades,  which  fact  entails  a  good  deal  of 
manoeuvring. 


Wildbad,  Gastrin. 


The  beautiful  waterfalls  which  thunder  through 
the  very  centre  of  this  mountain  resort,  and  the 
hot  springs  used  for  the  baths,  are  the  charac- 
teristics of  this  place.  Harry's  aunt,  Miss  John- 
ston, after  a  week  at  Gastein,  went  on  to  Switzer- 
land, where  they  met  again  later  at  the  Riffel-Alp. 

His  mother  wrote  :  — 


140  Last  Long  Vacation  jet.  21 

I  felt  sorry  Harry  had  no  companion  for  his  long 
walks,  but  he  never  seemed  to  mind  going  off  alone. 
Often  I  watched  him  some  way  down  the  valley,  being 
able  to  make  out  his  figure  (with  the  glass),  by  his  white 
flannels  and  straw  hat ;  he  would  stop  to  hand  a  leaflet 
to  almost  every  one  he  met,  for  he  always  went  off  with 
pockets  stored.  He  managed  with  his  small  stock  of 
German,  filling  up  with  bright  looks  his  lack  of  words  ; 
but  he  longed  to  be  able  to  speak  fluently  to  the  country 
people  and  the  waiters  at  the  different  hotels,  and  often 
spoke  of  coming  abroad  again,  really  to  live  in  some 
German  or  French  family  for  the  sake  of  acquiring  the 
languages.  He  occupied  many  odd  minutes  at  Gastein, 
in  marking  German  Testaments  and  Gospels  with  red 
ink,  painting  a  little  cross  at  the  side  of  the  passages 
to  which  he  wished  to  draw  attention. 

We  never  missed  our  morning  reading,  and  prayer 
together  after  breakfast,  and  as  we  sometimes  felt  it 
strange  to  be  so  far  away  and  among  utter  strangers  (not 
speaking  a  word  of  English,  except  to  each  other,  for 
nearly  three  weeks  of  our  time  at  Gastein),  it  was  doubly 
welcome  to  bring  all  the  dear  ones  at  home,  and  all  the 
interests  of  life,  before  our  God  together.  The  earnest- 
ness and  reality  of  his  prayers  abide  with  me  ;  it  was 
indeed  as  a  child  speaking  freely  and  confidingly  to  his 
Father,  and  asking  with  longing  desire  and  expecting 
faith.  Then  regularly  and  diligently  he  settled,  in  his 
own  room,  to  his  '  Political  Economy '  reading,  for  two 
or  three  hours. 

The  next  extracts  are  from  letters  written  after  a 
happy  meeting  at  Lucerne,  Harry's  father,  youngest 


JET.  21 


Lucerne  141 


brother,  and  a  younger  sister  having  arrived  from 
England. 

Pension  Sc/iweizerhaus,  Lucerne,  August  3. — Here  we 
are,  back  again,  looking  out  on  the  glorious  mountains, 
almost  from  the  very  same  rooms  we  had  seven  years  ago, 
when  Harry  was  just  Rennie's  age,  the  eldest  of  five  dear 
sons. 

I  want  you  all  to  know  what  a  red-letter  day  I  am 
having  ;  of  all  happy  meetings,  I  think  this  has  been  far 
the  best,  and  I  cannot  express  how  thankful  I  am. 
Harry  and  I  ended  our  delightful  tete-a-tete  of  over  five 
weeks,  by  his  rowing  me  for  two  hours  on  the  peaceful 
lake  by  moonlight,  last  night,  before  the  train  was  due. 

From  recollections  by  his  Sister  Dora. 

Harry  said  that  I  was  like  a  very,  very  long  letter 
which  had  not  been  read,  and  that  when  they  had  time, 
he  would  say,  '  Now  let  us  read  a  bit  of  Dora  ; '  so  we 
sat  and  talked,  and  I  tcld  them  a  great  deal  about  home. 

We  left  Lucerne  on  Tuesday.  Harry  had  been  up 
Pilatus  that  morning,  and  got  in  just  as  we  were  leaving, 
looking  rather  hot  and  tired  in  his  dear  brown  suit  and 
felt  hat  that  he  wore  on  all  his  expeditions.  We  went 
on  to  Goschenen,  where  we  slept  on  our  way  to  the 
Riffel,  Harry  following  later. 

The  transit  from  Lucerne  to  Zermatt  was  made 
via  Andermatt  and  the  Rhone  glacier  route.  The 
party  arrived  at  the  Riffel  Alp  (above  Zermatt;, 
to  find  an  uncle  and  two  aunts  tKcre  to  welcome 
them. 


142  Last  Long  Vacation  JET- 2] 


Harry  to  Neil. 

Saas-Fee,  August  12. — Uncle  Johnston,  father  and  I 
are  now  out  on  a  little  tour.  On  arriving  at  the  RifTel 
Alp  on  Saturday,  uncle  was  already  quite  in  the  climb- 
ing swing,  and  as  he  was  anxious  to  take  advantage  of 
the  fine  weather  and  a  full  moon,  we  started  off  at  2.30 
yesterday  morning  to  cross  the  Adler  Pass,  one  out  of 
several  snow-passes,  which  cross  the  Mischabel  range, 
dividing  one  valley  from  another. 

After  a  rough  hour's  walk  we  got  on  to  the  glacier, 
but  only  to  cross,  then  coasted  along  up  a  moraine. 
At  5  a.m.  we  had  another  breakfast— cold  tea  very  re- 
freshing, ditto  dried  prunes.  At  about  7.30  we  were 
roped  together.  The  fields  of  snow  were  very  fine. 
About  three-quarters  of  an  hour  from  the  top  it  got 
steeper,  and  we  had  to  use  the  steps,  fortunately  cut 
before  by  some  one. 

Had  lunch  on  the  top  ridge — some  precious  remains 
of  cold  tea,  augmented  by  melted  snow.  Later  we  went 
down  the  other  side,  and  by  a  very  rocky  ridge,  which 
seemed  to  get  worse  further  on. 

This  morning  we  walked  down  the  valley  to  this 
place,  about  two-and-a-half  hours' distance,  along  a  rough 
mule-path.  After  lunch  we  adjourned  to  the  village 
cobbler,  to  repair  and  re-nail  our  boots. 

It  has  been  delightful  having  father  on  my  first  ice 
and  snow  excursion,  and  also  uncle,  who  is  always  full  of 
information,  and  getting  more  at  every  turn  ;  he  accosts 
nearly  all  travellers. 

Mr.  Johnston  wrote  some  time  later  : — 


alt.  2i  Adler  Pass  143 

One  portion  of  the  descent  from  the  Adler  acquires 
a  touching  interest  from  what  has  happened.  The  guides 
had  mistaken  the  way,  and  were  obliged  to  take  us  down 
a  short  piece  of  rock,  so  difficult  that  they  took  us  one 
by  one,  returning  between  the  journeys.  Harry  went 
first,  and  it  was  twenty  minutes  before  they  returned  for 
me.  Probably  the  experience  gained,  and  succeeding  in 
the  passage,  had  given  them  confidence,  for,  although 
Harry  was  far  more  active  and  strong  than  I,  yet  I 
found  him  when  I  reached  him  at  the  bottom  much 
more  impressed  with  the  difficulty  than  I  had  been,  and 
anxious  about  his  father's  passage.  He  told  me  that  he 
had  been  praying  that  his  father  might  be  brought  safely 
down. 

Later  on,  the  arrival  of  a  large  and  delightful 
party  of  cousins  and  friends  added  greatly  to 
the  enjoyment  of  those  glorious  days  among  the 
mountains. 

Harry  was  one  day  asked  to  take  the  daily 
Bible-reading  alone,  with  some  of  the  young  people, 
two  of  whom  were  Harrow  boys.  One  of  the 
cousins  writes  of  it : — 

The  elder  people  stayed  away,  and  we  young  ones  read 
alone.  Harry  at  once  suggested  we  should  read  the 
Scripture  Union  portion.  It  was  Mark  viii.  1-14  ;  the 
story  of  the  loaves  and  fishes.  He  told  us  to  look  at 
three  words  in  the  first  verse,  'Nothing  to  eat,'  and 
applied  it  spiritually  ;  he  said  we  must  feel  ourselves 
to  be  empty,  to  have  nothing,  no  goodness  of  our  own, 


144  Last  Long  Vacation  ^et.  21 

before  Jesus  will  give  us  the  Living  Bread  to  eat,  and 
to  satisfy  our  souls. 

Then  the  fourth  verse  :  '  From  whence  can  a  man 
satisfy  these  men,'  etc.,  telling  us  how  Jesus  alone  can 
satisfy.  And  he  asked  us,  smiling,  if  we  would  not 
talk  as  well. 

He  gave  me  the  impression  of  really  loving  his 
Saviour  so  much,  and  as  if  he  lived  in  the  felt  Presence 
of  Jesus,  which  made  him  bright  and  loving  to  all  around 
him,  and  always  wanting  to  lead  others  to  Him. 

And  another  adds  : — 

I  always  remember  the  Bible-reading  we  had,  when 
he  compared  those  who  searched  for  good  words  out 
of  the  Bible  to  gold-diggers  who  search  for  every  little 
grain  of  gold. 

From  Harry  to  Neil. 

I  have  now  to  tell  of  two  expeditions.  First,  the 
Breithorn,  which  father  and  I  went  up  last  Wednesday 
morning.  We  left  here  with  our  guide  on  Tuesday  ; 
our  route  lay  over  the  Corner  and  Theodule  glaciers. 
On  arriving  at  the  hut  on  the  top  of  the  Theodule  Pass 
(one  of  the  many  snow-passes  about  here)  we  found 
three  ladies  and  about  eight  gentlemen,  so  were  prepared 
for  a  night  of  it.  They  pretty  well  filled  up  the  only 
common  room  there  was,  very  like  a  ship's  cabin.  Two 
Cambridge  men  were  among  them.  They  were  all  drying 
stockings,  etc.,  round  a  stove,  and  as  there  was  only  a 
small  table  we  fed  in  turns,  as  we  had  come. 

Then  began  preparations  for  the  night.  There  were 
six  beds  to  be  had  (eighteen  people  altogether),  and  it 


Moutc  Rosa  145 


ended  in  seven  of  us  sleeping  in  this  little  room,  the 
salle.  The  place  was  kept  by  Italians,  who  came  in  with 
three  mattresses,  quilts,  etc.  We  were  arranged  in  a  row, 
I  at  one  end,  half  under  a  table.  It  had  been  snowing 
nearly  all  the  evening.  At  1  a.m.  there  was  a  rousing, 
and  most  of  us  got  up  to  look  at  the  prospect  of  the  sky, 
we  turned  in  again  till  four,  when  all  got  up  and  break- 
fasts began.  We  started  just  before  five,  ten  minutes 
after  the  first  party.  It  was  very  cold  at  first,  freezing 
hard,  but  a  lovely  morning  ;  the  colours  were  exquisite. 
Had  a  magnificent  view  from  the  top.  Italy  was  very 
clear.     We  also  saw  Mont  Blanc,  etc. 

Now  about  Monte  Rosa. 

We  started  2.15  a.m.  — father,  uncle  and  I,  and  Mr. 
Carlisle  with  us,  a  Haileybury  master. 

We  wrent  on  steadily  till  5.30,  when  we  stopped  on 
some  rocks  for  a  breakfast.  We  got  on  to  snow  soon 
afterwards  ;  then  roped,  after  that  it  was  all  up-hill,  more 
or  less  ;  the  snow  in  good  condition.  Another  halt  to 
feed  at  8.30,  and  we  got  up  to  the  'saddle'  an  hour 
afterwards,  then  up  the  arete.  (We  had  been  enjoying 
the  views  ;  some  wonderful  tints  on  the  peaks  in  the 
early  morning.)  The  arete  is  the  ridge  on  any  moun- 
tain, with  precipices  more  or  less  steep  on  each  side, 
generally  near  the  top.  We  had  to  go  carefully  here,  and 
near  the  top  left  our  ice-axes,  and  had  a  scramble  over 
big  rocks.  All  the  well-known  mountains  in  Switzerland 
were  to  be  seen  from  the  top  :  Jungfrau,  Mont  Blanc, 
Eggischorn,  and  Monte  Viso  in  Italy  ;  also  the  district 
of  the  Engadine. 

To  impress  the  memory  of  happy  weeks  during 

L 


1 40  Last  Long  Vacation  ^et.  21 

this  summer  on  the  minds  of  Harry's  youngest 
brother  and  sisters,  they  were  encouraged,  for  their 
own  sakes,  to  write  down  all  that  they  remembered, 
immediately  after  his  death.  As  these  very  simple 
and  unassisted  recollections  give  touches  of  Harry's 
character,  extracts  are  given  here  and  there.  His 
youngest  brother  writes  : — 

Sunday  (August  31)  was  lovely.  In  the  afternoon  we 
sat  on  the  hill  behind  the  hotel,  reading  old  letters  ; 
mostly  from  Harry  about  Auntie  and  Grace  going  to  see 
him  at  Malta  ;  and  part  of  the  time  father  told  us  about 
dear  Campbell's  illness,  and  Harry  was  very  much 
interested,  asking  questions,  etc. 

We  left  the  Riffel  Alp  on  Monday,  September  1,  and 
slept  at  Stalden.  Just  before  St.  Nicolas,  I  had  a  chase 
after  a  '  Camberwell  Beauty,'  and  Harry  told  us  that  he 
had  had  a  chase  after  another.  It  was  the  last  time  I 
slept  in  the  same  room  with  him,  as  we  had  always 
shared  one  room  ;  he  generally  had  prayer  with  me 
morning  and  evening. 

The  next  letters  from  Harry  were  written  after 
the  party  broke  up,  and  his  father  and  Rennie  had 
returned  to  England  ;  leaving  him  with  his  mother 
and  his  sister   Dora,  at  Glion,  above  the  Lake  of 

Geneva. 

To  Neil. 

Glion,  September  10.— I  started  at  6.30  a.m.,  as  I  had 
fixed  to  get  a  walk.  I  first  got  up  to  the  Col  de  Jaman, 
there   I  was  refreshed   by  milk   from  a  cheese-making 


Glion  147 


chalet,  and  watched  operations  for  a  time.  They  also 
gave  me  curds.  Then  I  had  a  short  climb  up  the  Dent 
de  Jaman,  a  peak  on  the  ridge,  and  then  along  and  up  to 
the  top  of  Les  Rochers  de  Naye.  I  enjoyed  the  walk 
very  much.  We  are  a  cosy  party  now  ;  Dora  trying  to 
light  a  wood  fire  on  the  hearth.     It  will  be  nice  getting 

home  to  you  all,  although  sad  to  leave  mother \ 

lovely  verse  I  must  tell  you  of,  Prov.  vi.  22.  ('  Where  thou 
goest,  it  shall  lead  thee  ;  when  thou  sleepest,  it  shall 
keep  thee  ;  and  when  thou  awakest,  it  shall  talk  with 
thee ') ;  it  has  often  occurred  to  me  lately,  and  we  may 
prove  it  daily.  If  father  has  any  hints  to  give  me  about 
my  journey  home,  would  he  write  at  once  ? 

To  his  Father. 

Glion,  September  15. —  .  .  .  Yesterday  we  considered 
a  good  deal  about  my  going  home,  and  the  desirability 
of  Neil's  coming  out  here.  I  did  not  at  all  like  leaving 
mother  to-day.  She  has  felt  lately  how  much  she  needs 
one  of  us,  as  you  will  understand,  for  I  have  been  with 
her  so  long,  and  able  to  help.  It  seemed  reasonable 
he  should  come  out  and  take  my  place,  so  we  fixed 
this  after  just  committing  the  whole  thing  into  God's 
Hands,  and  now  we  are  sure,  that  if  it  is  His  will,  it 
will  come  about. 

I  shall,  of  course,  wait  till  they  arrive,  stay  over 
next  Sunday,  I  dare  say,  then  start  home  on  Monday  or 
Tuesday. 

From  his  Mother  to  his  Fat  fur. 

Glion,  September  15. —  .  .  .  As  it  came  to  the  point 
I  dreaded  extremely  Harry  leaving  me  ;  and  of  course 
I  love  more  than  ever  to  have  him  with  me.   .  .  . 


148  Last  Long  Vacatioji  ^et.*2i 

He  has  most  truly  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  is  so  wise 
and  moderate.  I  am  sure  he  has  the  secret  of  true 
peace  himself — a  close  union  with  the  Master.  We  can 
never  be  thankful  enough  for  the  grace  in  him. 

I  cannot  say  what  a  reprieve  it  has  been — his  not 
going  to-day. 

From  Dora's  recollections. 

Harry  and  I  had  rooms  at  the  '  Dependance,'  a  little 
way  from  the  hotel,  and  every  night  he  used  to  take  me 
off  to  bed,  and  light  my  candle  for  me,  to  save  mother 
coming,  and  then  go  back  to  her.  Almost  every  day  we 
used  to  buy  fruit,  and  he  bargained  splendidly  with 
the  old  fruit  woman. 

Every  morning  there  was  a  little  service  at  8.30,  at 
which  we  used  to  have  the  Lessons,  and  Harry  read 
them  for  the  Chaplain. 

The  following  extract  alludes  to  this  : — 

Hotel  Rigid ^  Vaudois,  Glion,  September  25.  .  . — My 
husband  was  so  struck  with  your  boy.  He  felt  when  he 
heard  him  read  the  Lesson  one  morning  at  our  little 
service  (I  think  it  was  the  first  of  2  Cor.),  that  he  not 
only  understood,  but  loved  the  blessed  words. 

September  1 5  had  been  the  day  fixed  for  Harry's 
start  homewards,  but  it  was  put  off  for  a  week,  to 
give  time  for  his  brother  Neil  going  out  to  take  his 
place,  till  his  father  could  return  from  England. 
Neil  was   also   to  escort   his  youngest    sister    and 


/et.  21  Glion 


149 


Miss  Tucker,  to  join  the  littie  party  abroad  for 
the  autumn.  After  chilly  rain  and  wood  fires  for 
some  days,  the  weather  cleared  gloriously,  and  it 
was  decided  to  make  the  short  move  from  Glion 
to  the  neighbouring  sunny  mountain  slopes  of 
Villars-sur-Ollon,  above  the  valley  of  the  Rhone, 
to  enjoy  the  higher  air  as  long  as  possible,  and 
there  to  wait  the  expected  arrival  from  England. 

During  the  fortnight  at  Glion  and  the  last  days 
at  Villars,  he  occupied  all  his  spare  minutes  with 
correspondence  as  to  next  term's  arrangements 
for  the  Cambridge  Church  Missionary  Union. 

The  evening  before  leaving  Glion  is  marked 
by  one  among  many  of  memory's  bright  pictures. 
After  the  golden  sunset  light  had  faded  from  the 
lake  and  mountains,  and  the  lamps  were  lighted, 
the  children  of  the  French  families  staying  in  the 
hotel  were  playing  as  usual  in  merry  groups  about 
the  hall.  Harry  enjoyed  their  happiness  for  some 
time,  and  then  fetched  down  two  bound  volumes 
of  the  charming  illustrated  papers,  '  Le  Rayon  du 
Soleil  '  and  '  Les  Enfants  '  which  had  been  in  readi- 
ness for  special  pets.  The  expression  of  his  face 
as  he  watched  the  surprise  of  the  little  ones  was  a 
mixture  of  delight  in  their  pleasure,  and  of  some- 
thing far  deeper — of  loving  interest  in  the  pre- 
cious lambs  so  dear  to  the  Good  Shepherd. 


VIII. 

THE    LAST    WEEK. 
1884. 

Morn,  noon,  and  night, 
Thro'  days  o'ercast  and  bright, 

My  purpose  still  is  one ; 
I  have  one  end  in  view, 
Daily  one  thing  I  do 

Until  my  object's  won. 

The  day  declineth  fast, 
At  noon  its  hours  are  past, 

Its  lustre  waneth  now  ; 
That  other  heavenly  day, 
With  its  enduring  ray, 

Shall  soon  light  tip  my  brow. 

Oh,  may  I  follow  still, 
Faith's  pilgrimage  fulfil, 

With  steps  both  sure  and  fleet. 
The  longed  for  goal  I  see, 
Jesus  waits  there  for  me, 

Haste  !  haste,  my  pilgrim  feet. 


VIII. 

THE   LAST   WEEK,    1 884. 

THE  last  days  are  associated  with  all  that  is 
brightest  of  earth's  loveliness.  Days  of  unclouded 
beauty  succeeded  each  other,  during  that  week 
which  was  to  end  for  Harry,  in  the  City  which  hath 
no  need  of  the  sun. 

On  Tuesday,  September  16,  the  Lake  of 
Geneva  was  left,  shining  and  still,  bordered  by 
brilliant  autumn  flowers,  with  the  rich  vineyards 
sweeping  down  the  mountain  sides. 

Harry  had  a  last  plunge  and  swim  in  the  lake, 
and  helped  to  choose  some  little  presents  to  take 
home  with  him,  and  also  one  to  leave  ready  for  his 
youngest  sister's  birthday  on  the  24th.  The  late 
afternoon  was  radiant  for  the  drive  up  to  Villars 
from  Aigle,  the  road  at  first  winding  up  through 
avenues  of  heavily  laden  walnut,  and  Spanish 
chestnut,  trees.  There  was  every  promise  of  a 
speedy  and  rich  fruit  harvest,  and  the  villagers 
were  busy  gathering  in  their  second  hay  crops, 
from  the  sunny  fields,  which  were  in  many  places 
enamelled    with    the    delicate    pale   violet    of    the 


54 


The  Last  Week 


autumn  crocuses.  Beyond  and  above,  the  deep 
blue  and  purple  of  the  rugged  mountain  ranges 
never  looked  more  beautiful,  and  the  crowning 
snow-peaks  never  more  heavenly  in  their  glistening 
whiteness,  than  on  that  evening.  Harry  was  a 
little  in  advance  on  foot,  intensely  enjoying  the 
whole  scene. 

The  glow  and  glory  of  the  sunset  was  over,  and 
the  day  fading  fast,  before  Villars  was  reached — a 


The  Dent  du  Midifrotn  Villars-sur-Ollon. 

most  lovely  spot,  like  a  vast  undulating  park,  with 
groups  of  fir-trees  scattered  about. 

Harry  wrote  home  the  following  day  : — 

Villars-sur-Ollon,  September  17. 

.  .  .  Here  we  are  in  another  fresh  place.      It  is  a 

glorious  morning  ;  the  lights  and  shadows  on  the  hills 

beautiful.     The  Dent  du  Midi  is  right  in  front  of  us,  and 

a  glistening  snow-mountain    beyond.     We  had  a   short 


Villars  155 


journey  here  yesterday,  about  half-an-hour  only,  in  the 
train  to  Aigle.  Then  we  secured  a  one-horsed  chaise 
for  mother,  Dora,  and  the  luggage,  for  the  three  hours' 
drive  up  here.  A  very  good  position,  over  4,000  feet, 
looking  down  into  the  Rhone  valley.  We  got  up  here 
about  7.30,  quite  dark.  We  heard  there  were  only  seven 
people  here  besides  ourselves,  the  rain  and  cold  driving 
many  away  last  week.  .  .  . 

I  hope  to  walk  down  to  Aigle  on  Friday  to  meet  the 
party.  I  am  very  glad  we  made  the  move  here,  and  am 
more  and  more  clear  it  is  right,  Neil  coming  to  be  with 
mother. 

And  on  the  same  day  he  wrote  to  a  brother  at 
school : — 

...  In  the  salon  last  evening  a  gentleman  played 
very  beautifully  on  the  piano,  and  he  did  a  wonderful 
thing.  He  asked  for  a  narrow  table  cloth,  which  was 
held  by  two  others  over  the  keys,  and  then  he  played 
away  all  the  same.  It  was  very  curious  to  see  it  done. 
It  has  been  a  lovely  day  here,  quite  hot,  and  a  wonderful 
sunset  this  evening,  such  a  tint  on  Mont  Blanc,  which 
we  can  see  a  little  way  from  the  hotel. 

We  hope  you  will  get  this  letter  for  Sunday.  Uo  let 
us  think  of  each  other  especially  then,  and  expect  great 
blessing  wherever  we  are.  If  we  are  really  willing  to 
obey  the  great  Captain,  He  will  give  us  for  our  use  and 
His  glory  whatever  we  ask  for.  I  don't  think  we  half 
remember  this  enough. 

His  mother  wrote  of  these  days  : — 

Later  the  same  evening  Lady  Montagu-Pollock,  with 


156  The  Last  Week  jer.21 

her  son,  Sir  Frederick,  and  the  rest  of  her  party  arrived, 
to  our  great  surprise.  Harry  was  very  glad  to  meet  his 
school  and  college  friend,  in  this  way,  and  on  the  next 
afternoon  we  all  took  a  walk  together,  enjoying  our  first 
sight  of  Mont  Blanc  in  the  distance,  and  the  general 
loveliness  around  us.  While  several  sat  down  to  sketch, 
Harry  and  Monty  took  a  further  exploring  walk  to- 
gether. Thursday  morning  the  18th,  we  all  started  at 
6.15  for  the  Chamossaire,  a  mountain  expedition  about 
three  hours'  walk.  Four  of  the  party  rode,  I  walked  for 
about  half-an-hour  with  Harry's  arm,  gathering  wild  rasp- 
berries, with  the  morning  dew  upon  them,  as  we  went. 
The  top  was  reached  at  about  9.15,  and  there  we  stayed 
resting  and  enjoying  the  glorious  view  for  about  three 
hours.  Just  before  coming  down,  the  two  young  men 
scrambled  down  a  rocky  steep,  with  one  of  the  men,  in 
the  hope  of  finding  edelweiss,  and  were  climbing  for 
about  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  Harry,  full  of  strength 
and  spirits — when  he  had  brought  me  down  to  an  easy 
part— ran  up  to  another  point  for  the  mere  pleasure 
of  it.  I  see  him  now,  and  hear  the  familiar  whistle  as 
he  came  down  through  the  golden  bracken,  and  when 
further  on,  he  was  pursued  by  a  long  string  of  goats,  eager 
for  the  salt  with  which  he  had  supplied  himself.  We 
enjoyed  the  resting  afternoon  after  our  return,  almost 
as  much  as  the  expedition.  He  sat  reading  in  my 
room  with  Dora  by  him,  another  precious  picture  for 
me  to  dwell  upon.  In  the  evening,  we  had  our  last 
little  reading  and  prayer,  he  and  I  alone  together. 

The    following  letter,    from     Lady    Montagu- 
Pollock    to   Miss    Mac    Innes,    was    written    from 


/ET.   21 


Letters  1 5  7 


England    less    than     a    week    after    that    excur- 

o 

sion  : — 

Thurlow,  September  24. 
My  dearest  Anna, — I  feel  as  if  I  must  write  to  you. 
It  is  late  in  the  day,  and  we  have  only  just  observed  in 
the  'Times'  the  awful  sorrow  that  has  come  to  you. 
You  will  have  heard  probably  of  the  happy  days  we  have 
all  had  at  Villars  ;  we  went  there  on  Tuesday — left  on 
Saturday.  It  was  such  a  pleasure,  all  unexpectedly,  to 
see  your  dear  people,  and  now,  to  think  how  suddenly 
such  a  strong  young  life  has  been  cut  off.  His  mother 
evidently  leant  on  him  so  much.  We  went  a  mountain 
excursion  together,  and  then  she  remarked  that  dear 
Harry  was  so  cautious,  she  was  never  afraid.  God  only 
can  comfort  them,  but  I  quite  believe  there  is  the  best 
and  only  comfort  — that  he  was  a  true  child  of  God.  It 
touched  my  heart  very  much  to  see  his  extreme  thought- 
fulness  for  his  mother,  so  gentle  and  unselfish.  But  I 
must  not  write  on,  though  my  heart  is  very  full.  We 
returned  thanks  as  a  family  for  safe  return  only  this 
morning.  How  little  I  thought  of  their  sorrow  ! 
Ever  your  loving  Friend, 

Laura  C.  Montagu-Pollock. 

I  wonder  if  you  go  out  or  stay.  Miles  will  no  doubt 
have  gone.     Send  me  one  line,  if  you  can. 

Later  on,  Sir  Frederick  wrote  from  Cam- 
bridge :  — 

October  1884.— We  were  only  three  days  at  Villars, 
and  on  the  second  day  we  all  went  up  the  '  Chamossaire,' 
but  as  we  were  a  large  party,  and  a  good  deal  separated, 
I  did  not  have  much   conversation  with  Harry.     On  the 


158  The  Last  Week  jet.  21 

last  day  that  we  were  there,  he  was  away,  having  gone 
to  meet  the  party  coming  from  England. 

The  only  time  that  I  had  a  walk  with  him  alone 
was  on  the  day  after  our  arrival.  In  the  afternoon  we 
all  started  for  a  certain  point,  from  which  there  is  a 
fine  view  of  Mont  Blanc  ;  the  others  stopped  there  to 
sketch,  while  he  and  I  walked  on  together.  He  told  me 
about  his  mountain-climbing  expeditions,  the  ascent  of 
Monte  Rosa  and  other  excursions  ;  and  we  talked  chiefly 
about  our  experiences  in  Switzerland. 

The  path  followed  the  valley,  and  a  small  stream  ; 
we  went  some  way,  but  at  the  last  had  to  turn  back  by 
the  same  path.  On  the  way  back  he  spoke  about  the 
choice  of  a  profession.  He  said  he  had  not  made  up  his 
mind  on  this  point,  but  he  felt  sure  that  he  should  be 
shown  what  was  the  right  thing  for  him  to  do  ;  it  was  a 
step  not  to  be  taken  in  a  hurry,  without  help  from  above. 
Afterwards  he  went  on  to  talk  about  matters  of  religion, 
—about  the  disputed  questions  at  the  present  day,  and 
the  various  forms  of  unbelief.  The  great  thing,  he  said, 
in  any  difficulty,  was  to  put  one's  whole  trust  in  God. 
He  also  happened  to  remark— a  thing  which  struck  me 
very  forcibly  afterwards,  though  not  so  much  at  the 
tjme — that  the  death  of  a  Christian  was  always  happy. 
As  he  spoke,  the  path,  winding  up  from  the  valley, 
suddenly  opened  out— when  we  came  upon  a  scene  that 
I  am  not  likely  to  forget.  One  of  the  most  glorious 
sunsets  possible  to  imagine. 

We  were  taken  entirely  by  surprise,  having  had  all  view 
in  that  direction,  up  to  this  point,  completely  shut  out. 
The  valley  of  the  Rhone  lay  before  us.  Mont  Blanc 
and  the  Dent  du  Midi  were   slightly   tinged  ;  but   the 


&?•  21  StiUSCt  i  rg 


most  remarkable  part  was  the  gorgeous  colouring  behind 
the  hills  to  the  right  (which  stood  out  almost  black 
against  it),  so  brilliant  as  to  flood  everything  around  us 
with  its  red  light.  We  stood  looking  at  it  for  a  long 
time,  both  enjoying  it  immensely,  for  it  seemed  to  grow 
more  perfect  every  minute,  but  at  last  had  to  turn 
reluctantly  away  and  follow  the  path  back  through  the 
wood  to  the  hotel.  .  .  . 

The    next    day    was    thus    described     by    his 
mother  : — 

On  Friday  morning,  September   19th,  he  started  for 
Lausanne,  to  meet  the  party  from  England  on  their  way 
out  to  us.     He    went  off,  delighting  in  the  early  walk 
down  into  the  valley,  and  in  the  prospect  of  meeting 
and  bringing  them  back.     He  and  Neil  walked  up  from 
Aigle  in  the   evening,  intensely  enjoying   each    others 
company  once   more  ;  often    stopping   to   scramble    up 
trees  for  brilliant  sprays  of  autumn    leaves  for  me,  to 
give  Eva  a  run  as  a  change   from  the  slower  progress 
of  the  carriage,  or  to  speak  to  the  peasants  by  the  way- 
side.      Neil   was    much   amused   at    one    conversation 
Harry   kept   up   with    an   old  man  and    his    wife,    who 
were  resting  from  their  hay-making.     In  the  joy  of  his 
heart  he  made  them  understand  that,  after  two  days  and 
a  night's  travelling,  here  was  his  brother  from  England, 
and  how  glad  they  were  to  be  together.     Much  pleased, 
the    old    couple    warmly    responded ;     Harry   added    a 
bright  word  (pointing  upwards  as  he  spoke)  about  the 
best  Friend  and  the  Home  above,  and  the  brothers  said 
good-night.     He  lingered  behind  at   last  to  arrive  with 
Eva,  and  let  Neil  come  on  to  me  ;  and,  as  she  said,  '  he 


160  The  Last  Week 


had  to  walk  very  fast  when  we  were  near  Villars,  because 
the  horse  was  trotting,  and  he  said  he  could  not  miss  the 
meeting  with  mother.'  The  joy  of  the  two  boys  in  being 
together  again  added  greatly  to  my  happiness  in  the  meet- 
ing, and  we  were  indeed  a  thankful  party  that  evening. 

Lady  Montagu-Pollock  and  her  party  left  Villars 
next  morning,  Saturday,  20th.     Dora  wrote  : — 

At  Bible-reading,  Harry  suggested  that  we  should  see 
how  many  times  '  the  Lord  of  Hosts '  came  in  the  Bible, 
and  the  different  ways  in  which  it  is  used.  So  we  settled 
we  should  each  take  a  part  of  the  Bible  and  write  down, 
the  next  day  (Sunday),  all  we  could  find.  In  the  after- 
noon, we  set  off  for  Gryon — mother  on  a  horse,  the  rest 
of  us  walking.  We  came  to  a  bridge,  and  Harry  and  I 
pretended  to  be  defending  it  with  fir  cones  against  Neil 
and  Eva. 

The  object  of  the  walk  to  Gryon  was  to  engage 
a  guide  for  Monday,  for  a  mountain  expedition. 
All  enjoyed  the  exquisite  evening — the  scene  was 
a  lively  one,  in  the  picturesque  village,  with  the 
many  cows,  and  their  large,  full-toned  bells.  On 
the  way  back  Harry,  as  usual,  was  in  his  element 
while  surrounded  by  bright  groups  of  children,  to 
whom  he  gave  picture  papers. 

Coming  back  he  and  Neil  turned  off  to  take  a 
longer  walk  home.  Soon  after  they  came  in,  the 
discovery  was  made  that  Harry's  pocket-book  was 
missing,   containing    several    bank  notes.     It  had 


mt.  2.1  Loss  of  Pocket-book  161 


fallen  out  of  his  inner  coat  pocket ;  but,  as  Dora 
said,  '  Mother  told  us  that  Harry  had  lost  his 
pocket-book,  but  in  a  few  minutes  he  came  down 
so  sweet,  and  looking  so  nice,  just  as  if  nothing 
had  happened.' 

His  quietness  and  self-possession  after  he  dis- 
covered this  loss  were  but  added  proofs  of  his 
simple  dependence  on  his  God.  That  it  was  a  real 
trial  to  him  there  could  be  no  doubt,  for  it  involved 
the  loss  of  all  necessary  memoranda,  and  the 
money  with  which  to  make  all  payments.  He 
had  also  taken  the  greatest  interest  in  keeping 
very  accurate  accounts,  and  had  looked  forward  to 
going  over  them  all  with  his  father  on  his  return 
home  ;  now  every  clue  was  gone,  for  the  pocket- 
book  contained  everything.  By  his  perfectly  un- 
ruffled manner  all  the  evening  it  was  evident  that 
in  simple,  confident  trust  he  had  committed  the 
matter  to  his  best  Friend. 

He  made  great  fun  for  his  sisters  in  the  long 
corridor  leading  to  the  salon,  as  the  hotel  seemed 
rather  silent  and  deserted  with  so  few  people 
about,  and  Eva  wrote,  '  he  got  under  the  table 
and  made  himself  an  elephant,  crawled  about 
the  floor,  with  the  table  and  table-cloth  on  his 
back,  after  me.'  That  the  matter  was  not  for- 
gotten  for  a  moment  was,  however,  proved  by  his 

M 


162  The  Last  Week  ^et.  21 

arranging  a  plan  to  start  with  Neil  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible in  the  morning,  so  as  to  be  over  the  ground 
before  any  one  should  be  astir.  By  mistake  they  were 
called  at  three  o'clock  instead  of  four  A.M.,  as  fixed, 
so  had  to  wait  till  there  was  sufficient  day-light  for 
their  search.  As  soon  as  possible  they  reached  the 
point  which  led  to  the  path  through  the  fir-woods 
which  they  had  followed  the  evening  before. 
Harry  said,  '  We  will  now  ask  again  that  we  may 
find  it.'  Three  minutes  after,  as  they  walked  on, 
there  lay  the  pocket-book  in  the  middle  of  the 
well-beaten  path,  with  the  dew  still  upon  it. 
They  returned  light-hearted  through  the  flowery 
meadows,  taking  an  improvised  bath  in  one  of 
the  rushing  streams,  before  even  the  peasants  were 
awake. 

After  breakfast  he  wrote  the  following  to  his 
youngest  brother,  which  proved  to  be  his  last 
letter  :— 

Sunday,  September  21,  1884. 
Dear  Rennie, — You  will  be  wanting  to  know  about 
the  arrival  here,  after  having  all  the  interest  of  travelling 
up  to  Hampstead  with  the  same  little  party.  Well,  I 
walked  down  to  Aigle,  our  nearest  railway  station,  and 
arrived  at  Lausanne  only  three  minutes  before  they  did, 
and  there  they  were  looking  very  fresh.  We  went  into  a 
bustling  *  buffet '  and  ordered  '  cafe  complet.'  As  a  sur- 
prise for  mother  I  sent  her  off  a  telegram  (for  fourpence 
halfpenny)  saying,  '  All  fresh  and  feeding.' 


^ET.  21 


Last  Letter 


163 


On  the  way  back  to  Aigle  by  rail,  I  showed  them 
Glion, — and  the  rope  railway, — the  place  where  we  bathed, 
&c.  Eva  walked  a  bit  up  the  hill  on  our  way  here  and 
played  horses  with  me.  About  half  an  hour  from  here 
Neil  walked  on  quickly  and  met  mother  first.  We  are 
now  the  only  people  in  this  large  hotel,  for  the  season 
is  very  nearly  over  now. 


View  from  Villars  in  the  directio?i  of  Mt.  Blanc. 

Yesterday  afternoon  we  had  a  walk  to  a  village  one 
hour  off— Gryon  by  name.  Mother  had  a  horse,  and 
Eva  got  up  with  her  now  and  then.  Coming  back, 
Neil  and  I  took  a  round,  striking  up  the  hillside.  I 
took  my  coat  off,  and  we  scrambled  away.  Fancy  !  on 
getting  here  I  found  my  letter-case  gone,  with  bank 
notes  inside.  It  had  fallen  out  !  We  felt  how  difficult 
it  would  be  to  retrace  our  path,  but  started  at  five  this 
morning,  and  found  it  almost  directly.  We  were  very 
thankful. 

In  haste,  your  loving  Brother, 

Harry, 
m  2 


j  64  The  Last  Week  mt.  21 


The  English  church  was  closed  for  the  season, 
so  the  party  met  alone  for  a  delightful  little  ser- 
vice, reading  the  Psalms  and  Lessons,  and  just 
before  luncheon  for  hymn  singing  in  the  salon, 
Harry  sitting  down  to  play  one  of  his  favourites, 
'  What  a  Friend  we  have  in  Jesus ! '  but  soon 
telling  Dora  to  take  his  place,  '  as  he  had  practised 
so  little  lately.'  Later  the  singing  was  resumed, 
after  the  children  had,  with  some  trouble,  pulled 
Harry  out  of  a  tiny  cupboard-room  off  the  corridor, 
where  he  had  found  another  piano,  and  was  trying 
his  tunes  again. 

The  following  was  one  of  the  hymns  :— 

I  am  thine,  O  Lord  j  I  have  heard  Thy  voice, 

And  it  told  Thy  love  to  me  ; 
But  I  long  to  rise  in  the  arms  of  faith, 

And  be  closer  drawn  to  Thee. 

Draw  me  nearer,  nearer,  blessed  Lord, 
To  the  cross  where  Thou  hast  died  ; 

Draw  me  nearer,  nearer,  nearer,  blessed  Lord, 
To  Thy  precious,  bleeding  side. 

Consecrate  me  now  to  Thy  service,  Lord, 

By  the  power  of  grace  divine  ; 
Let  my  soul  look  up  with  a  steadfast  hope, 

And  my  will  be  lost  in  Thine. 

Oh,  the  pure  delight  of  a  single  hour 

That  before  Thy  throne  I  spend, 
When  I  kneel  in  prayer,  and  with  Thee,  my  God 

I  commune  as  friend  with  friend 


September  22  165 


There  are  depths  of  love  that  I  cannot  know 

Till  I  cross  the  narrow  sea  ; 
There  are  heights  of  joy  which  I  may  not  reach 

Till  I  rest  in  peace  with  Thee. 

Some  little  time  afterwards  he  was  found  in 
the  garden,  having  a  talk  with  the  waiter.  Often 
during  the  following  sorrowful  days  the  man  spoke 
of  that  talk,  and  how  Harry  *  had  told  him  about 
God's  salvation  for  nearly  an  hour.' 

After  this  he  and  his  brother  took  a  long, 
happy  walk  over  the  near  alps,  going  into  a  chalet 
to  get  some  milk.  He  advised  Neil  to  take  the 
rest  of  the  party  there  for  Eva's  birthday  on  the 
Wednesday  following,  saying  what  a  good  expe- 
dition it  would  make.  In  the  evening  the  guide 
arrived  from  Gryon,  and  all  was  arranged  with  him 
for  the  next  day's  expedition,  to  which  Harry  had 
been  greatly  looking  forward,  specially  for  Neil  to 
have  one  really  good  walk  and  cross  a  glacier, 
before  he  had  himself  to  leave  for  England  on 
Tuesday.  But  early  next  morning  (September  22) 
it  was  raining  so  heavily  that  the  porter  was  stopped 
on  his  way  to  wake  them  at  3.15,  as  any  glacier 
expedition  with  the  guide  was  hopeless. 

They  therefore  had  a  long,  good  night,  and 
Harry  had  his  accustomed  quiet  happy  time  in  his 
room  before  breakfast,  and  as  usual  he  was  heard 


1 66  The  Last  Week  jet.  21 

singing  while  dressing.  They  had  a  merry  break- 
fast, and  he  was  full  of  interest  about  a  walk  he 
planned  for  Neil  and  himself  alone. 

Then  the  last  happy  Bible-reading  together. 
The  portion  for  the  day  was  Zechariah  ix.,  and  he 
chose  sentences  from  verses  9,  12,  and  15.  'Thy 
king  cometh  unto  thee  ! '  '  Turn  you  to  the  strong- 
hold, ye  prisoners  of  hope  ; '  and  then  again,  '  The 
LORD  of  Hosts  shall  defend  them.' 

Much  fun  and  noise  followed  over  the  packing 
of  luncheon,  and  other  little  preparations  for  their 
start. 

One  more  romp  with  Eva,  chasing  her  up 
and  down,  to  her  great  delight.  She  wrote  of 
this  herself: — 

' .  .  .  He  put  the  sponge-bag  on  me  for  a  hat, 
and  then  the  brush-bag,  and  a  butterfly-net,  and 
then  he  threw  some  water  at  me,  and  then  he  put 
his  hat  on  me.  Then  he  and  Neil  went  for  their 
walk.' 

He  ran  back  for  more  illustrated  French  text- 
cards,  saying  he  '  must  have  plenty,  they  were  so 
charming  ; '  also  for  the  map  of  the  neighbourhood, 
out  of  Baedeker's  Guide  Book,  for  he  had  a  definite 
plan  in  his  mind  by  which  to  take  Neil  the  best 
possible  walk  in  the  time  before  them.  More  than 
once  they  had  agreed  to  be  back  early,  as  it  was 


September  22  167 


'  the  last  evening  together.'  He  wanted  to  skirt 
one  of  the  lower  spurs  of  the  Diablerets  range, 
and  to  return  by  the  nearer  side  of  the  valley. 
First  taking  the  Chamossaire  path,  they  struck 
down  into  the  valley  leading  to  the  Col  de  la 
Croix,  and  up  again  through  fir-woods  on  to 
the  green  alps  above. 

After  the  heavy  rain  of  the  night  before,  every 
now  and  then  white  mists  swept  over  the  mountain- 
sides, till  dispersed  by  bursts  of  sunshine,  which 
unveiled  the  lovely  views,  down  into  the  valleys 
far  below.  Harry  described  the  mountain  expedi- 
tions during  his  time  abroad  ;  and  as  the  brothers 
walked  on  together,  immensely  enjoying  another 
good  talk,  they  spoke  much  of  the  coming  term  at 
Cambridge,  and  of  the  objects  nearest  their  hearts. 
They  recurred  to  home  interests,  among  others  the 
young  men's  class  ;  talked  of  cricket  matches  in 
the  past,  and  hoped  for  in  the  future.  Harry  then 
spoke  of  his  great  desire  to  have  open-air  meetings 
in  the  park  at  home  some  day,  remarking,  as  they 
talked  over  the  subject,  '  it  would  help  to  bring  the 
young  men  on.' 

They  were  now  high  above  the  chalet  village 
of  Taveyana,  and  had  passed  the  tree  line.  The 
following  are  notes  from  Neil's  notebook,  written 
two  days  later  :  — 


1 68  The  Last  Week  jet.  21 

Saw  a  fine  fox  just  before  luncheon.  Harry  chose  a 
place  behind  a  small  rock,  and  made  me  sit  where  he 
said  I  could  get  under  shelter  from  the  wind.  I  spread 
out  our  luncheon  on  some  stones,  and  told  him  to  ask  a 
blessing  ;  he  did  so  with  feeling.  'This  ts  jolly! 'he  said, 
and  as  the  sun  came  out  I  looked  at  him,  remarking, 
'  how  well  you  look,'  and  thought  how  jolly  all  at  home 
would  think  him  looking.  He  said  he  'felt  very  fit,' 
and  again,  '  I  wish  we  could  find  some  little  fox-cubs.' 
I  said  'Yes,  wouldn't  it  be  jolly?  I  think  I  should  bag 
one.'  He  answered  '  Yes,  you  could  send  it  home  by  me 
to-morrow.' 

Then  he  jumped  up  and  walked  round  to  where  he 
could  see  the  valley  (we  were  sitting  with  our  backs  to  it), 
He  said  he  had  been  thinking  a  good  deal  lately  of  that 
verse,  '  The  works  of  the  Lord  are  great ; '  I  finished  it, 
'  sought  out  of  all  them  that  have  pleasure  therein.' 
After  putting  a  French  picture-text  into  our  empty  coffee- 
bottle,  and  writing  our  names  on  it,  he  sat  down  and 
read  Psalm  xxiv.  I  remember  distinctly  his  reading  that 
verse,  '  He  that  hath  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart.' 

While  enjoying  the  view,  Neil  told  Harry  to 
sing,  saying,  '  There  is  no  one  to  hear  us  up  here.' 
Harry  began  'We  are  volunteers  in  the  army  of 
the  Lord.'  He  could  not  remember  the  tune  per- 
fectly, but  Neil  told  him  to  '  try  again,  and  sing  it 
louder.' 

Laughing  and  full  of  spirits,  Harry  strapped 
on  his  bag  (the  remainder  of  bread  which  it  con- 
tained, his  father  found,  three  days  later,  soft  with 


at.  2i  September  22  169 


the  rain,  marking  unmistakably  the  spot  where  he 
lay  in  the  bed  of  the  stream).  They  started  again 
about  two  o'clock,  after  another  look  at  the  map, 
in  the  direction  of  the  '  Rochers  du  Dent.'  Neil's 
notes  continued  : — 

I  said,  'I  like  to  have  a  motto  for  each  day,  and 
mine  for  to-day  is,  "  I  will  be  glad  in  the  Lord  ; "  you 
know  it  is  in  the  "  Daily  Light." '  Harry  answered,  '  It 
is  very  nice  to  get  hold  of  something  like  that  for  each 
day — yes '  (and  I  shall  never  forget  the  way  in  which  he 
repeated  it),  '  "  I  will  be  glad  in  the  Lord,'"  laying  such 
emphasis  on  the  word  '  will,'  as  if  to  say,  it  is  in  our  power 
to  take,  what  we  may  claim  as  our  right. 

About  an  hour  later,  they  reached  a  ridge 
which  they  had  hoped  would  lead  them  round  the 
head  of  the  valley,  but  Harry  decided  that  it  looked 
doubtful,  so  they  retraced  their  steps  some  little  way 
and  walked  on,  till  about  four  o'clock  they  came 
to  a  place  where  the  rocks  rose  precipitously  from 
the  steep  mountain-side.  They  had  seen  for  some 
time  in  the  distance  a  cleft  or  passage  up  these  rocks, 
where  an  ascent  seemed  practicable,  and  on  reaching 
the  foot  of  the  cleft  Harry  said,  '  I  see  the  way  up.' 
Twice,  as  they  stood  together  during  that  short 
climb,  he  said,  'Who  shall  go  first  ? '  and  Neil  went 
on  ahead,  preferring  not  to  be  last,  as  he  knew  his 
brother  was  the  more  experienced  climber.  Harry 
several  times  called  cheerily  from  just  below,  and 


170  September  22  ^et.  21 

'  Is  there  grass  up  there  ? '  were  the  last  words  Neil 
heard. 

The  rest  is  told  by  an  extract  from  their  father's 
letter,  written  on  arriving  at  Villars  forty-eight 
hours  later. 

Each  step  they  hoped  would  be  easier,  but  it  grew 
worse.  Neil  dared  not  look  down  or  back ;  Harry 
called,  '  Don't  go  where  you  can't  get  back  ! '  Neil 
reached  the  top,  and  threw  himself  down  ;  heard  as  if 
two  great  stones  had  fallen.  Harry  never  appeared  ; 
Neil  shouted,  but  no  answer  came.  He  got  down  some- 
how (scrambling  down  another  way  in  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour)  to  where  he  believed  he  should  see 
him.  He  prayed  for  help,  and  strength  was  given  for 
the  tremendous  effort.  There  lay  our  most  precious 
one,  in  the  bed  of  a  little  torrent  on  the  steep  mountain- 
slope.  Neil  felt  his  heart,  his  pulse,  but  death  must 
have  been  instantaneous.  He  laid  him  straight,  folded 
the  hands,  and  sat  watching  the  calm  face.  A  chamois- 
hunter  had  been  watching  the  two  (from  the  other  side 
of  the  valley).  He  saw  the  fall  with  his  glass.  He  and 
two  wood-cutters  soon  came.  '  Mon  frere,— avec  Dieu  ! ' 
soon  told  them  all,  though  they  needed  no  telling. 

The  speedy  arrival  of  these  men  was  one  of  the 
many  proofs  of  the  tender  compassion  of  our  Father, 
Who,  never  nearer  than  in  our  times  of  sorest 
need  and  trouble,  thus  reminds  His  children  that 
He  is  watching  over  them.  At  first  Neil  tried  to 
persuade  them  to  bring  his  brother  down  at  once  ; 


September  22  171 


but  when  he  understood  from  them  that  he  might 
not  be  removed  till  the  authorities  gave  permis- 
sion, at  5.30  he  left  the  two  wood-cutters  to  watch, 
and  returned  to  Villars  with  the  chamois-hunter, 
not  arriving  till  after  seven— quite  dark. 

All  through  that  evening  and  night,  the  words 
came  as  if  by  a  voice:— 'And  He  laid  His  right 
hand  upon  me,  saying,  Fear  not ;  I  am  the  first  and 
the  last,  and  the  Living  One  ;  and  I  was  dead  and 
behold  I  am  alive  for  evermore  ;  and  /  have  the 
keys  of  death.' 

The  grievous  telegram  reached  Harry's  home 
at  1 1  P.M.,  but  not  without  the  comfortings  of  God, 
expressed  in  the  words,  '  we  are  in  perfect  peace.' 

And  thus  it  has  ever  been.  The  Saviour 
through  all  time  has  borne  His  children's  sorrows 
with  them — has  so  lighted  up  the  darkness  as  with 
a  flood  of  glory  from  the  opened  gates,  that  from 
their  hearts  they  have  answered,  '  It  is  well ' — not 
only  through  the  first  days  and  weeks,  but  as  life 
goes  on,  with  its  increasing  sense  of  loss. 

Harry's  father  and  brother  John  were  on 
their  way  to  Switzerland  before  an  hour  had 
passed.  Meanwhile,  sleep  came  with  its  merciful 
soothing  to  his  little  sisters  at  Villars.  The  prac- 
tical thoughtfulness  of  Mons.  Petter-Genillard,  the 
hotel  proprietor,   will    be  ever  gratefully   remem- 


172  September  23 


bered ;  and  Mr.  Inchbold,  the  artist  (the  only 
other  guest  at  the  time),  rendered  the  kindest  help. 
Coverings  were  sent  back  to  the  mountain-side 
by  the  chamois-hunter  and  one  of  Mons.  Petter's 
trusted  men,  and  there  they,  with  the  other  two 
men  who  had  been  left,  watched  through  the  re- 
mainder of  the  night  by  the  light  of  a  fire,  under 
the  shelter  of  the  rocks.  Heavy  rain  had  already 
set  in,  and  as  morning  dawned  on  Tuesday  (Sep- 
tember 23)  a  dense  mist  surrounded  Villars. 
Through  this  mist  the  Prefet  of  Bex  and  the 
doctor  arrived  from  the  valley,  and  started  at 
10  A.M.  to  make  their  way  to  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain steep,  under  the  guidance  of  Mons.  Petter. 
He  arranged  a  litter  of  strong  fir  boughs,  which 
he  sent  up  by  several  men,  and  there  they  awaited 
the  descent. 

The  following  extract  tells  of  the  return  to 
Villars  :— 

About  four  o'clock,  from  an  upper  window  (in  the 
Dependance  close  by)  we  watched  for  the  return,  first 
hearing  the  horse  bells  through  the  thick  mist  for  some 
minutes,  but  seeing  nothing  till  the  low  mountain  cart 
drawn  by  a  pony,  and  preceded  by  M.  Petter  and 
the  officials,  drew  up  below.  All  heads  uncovered,  and 
the  men  bore  him  gently  into  the  room  prepared.  Neil's 
first  words  after  looking  upon  his  face  again,  '  It  is  not 
only  peace,  but  joy ! '  are  true  indeed ;  and  as  we  sit  or 


Return  Home — September  29         173 

kneel  by  the  little  iron  bed  on  which  he  lies  in  the 
familiar  brown  suit,  with  his  head  turned  as  if  in  sleep, 
we  are  filled  with  praise  for  his  translation  into  perfect 
joy.  The  room,  bright  now  the  mist  has  cleared,  and 
with  the  windows  open  to  the  crocus-covered  fields,  is 
sweet  with  flowers  ;  some,  the  kind  people  here  had  made 
into  a  large  cross  and  wreath  with  fragrant  evergreens, 
which  are  upon  the  bed. 

Harry's  father  wrote  on  the  Friday  to  his 
eldest  daughter : — 

Villars,  September  26. — We  rejoice  that  you  too  are 
filled  with  peace  about  that  which  is  in  itself  such 
anguish  ;  but  our  precious  Harry  was  far  beyond  us  all, 
and  has  indeed  left  us  a  most  blessed  example.  Mother 
is  continually  dwelling  on  his  perfect  trust,  never  more 
real  than  all  through  this  time  abroad.  She,  and  I,  and 
John,  made  our  sacred  pilgrimage  yesterday,  and  reached 
the  spot  where  he  had  been  all  through  that  Monday 
night  lying  across  a  tiny  little  stream,  just  where  he  had 
fallen.  When  I  saw  where  they  had  gone  up,  I  imme- 
diately said  to  myself,  'There  was  nothing  rash  in  this.' 
The  place  up  which  they  went  did  not  look  very  bad,  but 
from  Neil's  account  it  must  have  rapidly  become  far 
worse  than  it  looked,  and  the  fall  must  have  been  fearful. 

The  same  day  this  letter  was  written,  the  party 
left  Villars  on  their  return  home. 

The  formalities  required  for  removal  to  Eng- 
land were,  as  usual,  complicated,  but  all  difficulties 
were  at  length  overcome,  and  just  one  week  after 


174  SianwtXy  September  29 

that  last  mountain  walk,  the  simple  Swiss  coffin 
reached  Carlisle,  accompanied  by  Harry's  parents 
and  brothers,  on  Monday,  September  29. 

From  an  old  Servant. 
I  remember  once,  at  Rickerby,  Mr.  Harry  as  the 
young  midshipman  was  expected  home.  The  hall  had 
been  decorated,  and  a  large  '  Welcome  Home  '  had  been 
arranged  to  catch  his  eye  first.  Can  we  not  let  our 
imagination  picture  to  us  the  glorious  'Welcome  Home  ' 
he  had  up  yonder  ? 

As  a  lovely  dawn  was  breaking,  he  was  borne 
reverently  and  tenderly  into  his  father's  house,  by 
labourers  on  the  estate,  who  had  all  known  and 
loved  this  eldest  son,  and  a  few  hours  later  a  very 
large  congregation  filled  the  parish  church  at  Stan- 
wix,  while  a  still  larger  number,  for  whom  there  was 
no  room  inside,  were  assembled  in  the  churchyard 
to  join  in  the  service,  which  was  read  by  the  Bishop 
of  Carlisle  and  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Wood,  the  Vicar. 

Many  touching  mentions  of  Harry's  death  had 
been  made  on  the  previous  day  (Sunday)  in  the 
neighbouring  churches  and  chapels,  and  to  those 
who  survive  their  beloved  one,  the  remembrance 
of  the  deep  and  universal  sympathy  which  per- 
vaded all  classes  in  Carlisle  and  the  neighbour- 
hood at  this  time,  can  never  fade  away. 

On  the  Sunday  after  the  funeral,  October    5, 


In  Memonam  175 

the  first  of  the  Psalms  for  the  morning  was  the 
24th,  which  had  been  Harry's  last  on  earth.  The 
Rev.  E.  H.  Bickersteth,  now  Bishop  of  Exeter,  who 
had  been  at  Carlisle  attending  the  Church  Congress, 
preached  in  Stanwix  Church.  He  had  known 
Harry  all  his  life  :  he  was  staying  at  Rickerby  for 
the  Sunday,  and  in  the  evening  brought  down  the 
following  lines  which  he  had  just  written : 

'  Christ  is  our  peace  to-day/ 
So  rang  the  gospel  word  ; 
He  grasp'd  it  fast  and  went  his  way 
Rejoicing  in  the  Lord. 

'  Christ  only,  none  but  Christ,' 
Still  echoed  in  his  ear 
That  watch-word  hour  by  hour  sufficed 
For  light,  and  strength,  and  cheer. 

1  Christ,  Christ,  for  one  and  all,' 
Believe  it,  men  and  brothers  : 
His  own  life  bade  us  hear  the  call, 
And  pass  it  on  to  others. 

To  live  was  Christ  to  him, 
A  fountain  never  dry, 
A  Sun  which  earth-clouds  could  not  dim, 
A  glory  always  nigh. 

Oh,  seems  it  that  too  soon 
The  messenger  has  come, 
And  borne  him  long,  so  long  ere  noon, 
Straight  to  the  Father's  home. 


176  Letters 


Thy  will  is,  must  be,  best  ; 
His  course  on  earth  was  run. 
Thy  pleasure  is  Thy  servant's  rest  ; 
Thy  will,  dear  Lord,  be  done. 

For  him  the  perfect  sight 
Of  Thee  he  loved  unseen  ; 
The  gaze  on  uncreated  Light, 
Without  a  veil  between  : 

For  us  the  humble  prayer 
To  trace  the  steps  he  trod  ; 
Till  eye  to  eye  together  there 
We  see  the  face  of  God. 

E.  H.  B. 
October  5,  1884. 

Extracts  follow  from  a  very  few  of  the  many 
valuable  letters  received. 

From  the  Rev.  T.  P.  Monnington  to  Lawrence  C.  Carr, 
who  had  been  his  fellow -pupil  with  Harry. 

September  27. 
The  trusty,  steady,  God-fearing  and  loving  Harry  must 
be  missed.  What  a  comfort  and  prop  he  has  been  at 
home,  those  nearest  him  and  dearest  will  know  best. 
But  I  know  enough  of  his  character  to  be  sure  that  his 
father  and  mother  have  thankfully  looked  upon  him  as  a 
pillar  of  the  house,  and  that  his  brothers  and  sisters  have 
looked  up  to  him,  and  seen  in  him  the  model  which  they 
would  like  to  copy. 

I  should  have  had  no  doubt  in  my  mind  whatever 
that  Harry  was  ready  for  death  but  the  account  makes 


Letters  177 


certainty  more  certain.  When  he  was  here  last  Easter 
he  seemed  rather  puzzled  as  to  his  future,  but  he  felt 
that  '  God  would  open  a  door  for  him  '  (these  were  his 
words),  and  He  has,  the  door  into  Paradise.  It  is  a 
beautiful  picture,  and  one  that  makes  me  very  happy,  to 
see  the  family  reading  the  Bible  together  before  the 
holiday-taking  part  of  the  day ;  and  then  the  elder 
brother  and  young  sister  playing  together.  Then  the 
two  brothers  at  their  luncheon  on  God's  grand  moun- 
tains, and  reading  a  psalm  together.  This  shows  that 
the  daily  Bible  reading  was  not  with  him  a  duty  to  be 
gone  through.  There  was  not  the  feeling  '  I  must  put 
God  first,  and  I  have  done  so,  and  now  I  am  free  to 
enjoy  myself ; '  God's  felt  Presence  was  his  enjoyment. 
It  makes  me  think  of  the  Psalmist's  words  :  '  Lord,  what 
love  have  I  unto  Thy  law  ?  all  the  day  long  is  my  study 
in  it.'  .  .  .  For  myself,  I  feel  a  mixture  between  sorrow 
and  great  thankfulness. 

From  the  Rev.  H.  C.  G.  Moule,  Principal  of  Ridley  Hall, 
Cambridge,  to  Harry *s  father. 

September  30,  1SS4. 

My  thoughts  were  intently  with  you  yesterday  in 
prayer.  Great  is  the  anguish.  Great  will  be — yea,  I 
am  assured  great  are — the  consolations  of  God.  He 
knows  perfectly  well  that  He  has  made  a  chasm  which 
nothing  on  earth  will  ever  fill  up  and  smooth  over. 

He  enters  with  infinite  sympathy  into  every  pulse  and 
groan  of  loss  ;  not  rebuking  but  loving.  To  feel  pro- 
foundly the  difference  when  a  great  gift  of  His  hand  is 
moved  out  of  sight,  is  not  in  itseif,   surely  in  the  least  a 

N 


[78  Letters 


lack  of  holy  submission.  But  then  He  knows  how  to  go 
down  into  the  chasm  he  has  made,  and  pour  out  His 
love  into  it,  and  glorify  it  with  His  special  Presence. 

He  can  and  does  make  His  people  feel  a  deep  blessed- 
ness in  their  '  yes '  to  Him,  when  some  immensely  real 
pressure  is  put  upon  their  faith. 

Your  letter,  with  its  strong  word  about  'infinite  love,' 
assures  me  that  it  is  so.  Your  dear  son  will  ever  dwell 
among  my  brightest  and  purest  memories  of  young  Cam- 
bridge Christians.  Truly  he  lived  and  shone.  Far  and 
wide  the  loss  will  be  felt,  by  those  who  know  what  he 
was  there,  in  daily  influence  and  noble  consistency. 

From  the  Rev.  E.   W.  Moore  {author  of  '  The  Overcoming 
Life'  &c),  whom  Harry  had  met  in  Switzerland. 

September  29,  1884. 
I  don't  know  when  I  have  felt  anything  so  much. 
Though  I  had  only  been  those  ten  days  with  him  (and  I 
do  thank  God  for  my  unexpectedly  prolonged  stay  there 
now),  we  were  a  good  deal  together,  and  I  can  truth- 
fully say,  I  just  loved  him.  I  was  struck  by  his  look 
the  very  first  time  I  saw  him.  When  he  came  into  the 
salon  at  the  RirTel  Alp  with  you,  there  was  something  so 
sweet,  so  humble,  so  heavenly  in  it.  I  recurred  to  it 
again  and  again,  and  when  I  got  to  know  him,  I  found 
him  better  than  he  looked. 

A  gentleman  who  was  roped  with  him  during  a 
mountain  expedition,  said  when  he  came  back  that  he 
was  a  most  remarkable  young  fellow,  he  'seemed  so 
decided.'  He  was  a  true  saint,  young  as  he  was,  and 
manly  and  bright.  But  the  Lord  was  enthroned  in  his 
heart. 


Letters  1 79 


May  John  xii.  24  be  true  of  this  sore  trial,  that  out  of 
death  a  harvest  of  life  may  be  reaped.  I  do  feel  so  to 
sorrow  with  you,  dear  friend.  I  am  with  you  in  spirit, 
in  prayer,  in  sorrow,  and  in  submission  in  my  poor 
measure. 

From  Mrs.  Charles  {author  of1  Chronicles  of  the  Schonberg 
Cotta  Family  '),  to  his  aunt,  Miss  Mac  Lines. 

The  blow  falls  not  on  something  hollow,  but  on  a 
rock  of  faith  in  the  Rock  of  Ages,  of  trust  in  the  infinite 
unchangeable  Love. 

I  keep  thinking  of  your  brother's  joyous  account  of 
his  visit  to  his  sons  at  Cambridge  in  May.  It  touched 
me  very  much  at  the  time.  It  is  good  to  think  of  the 
'unswerving  pointing  of  that  young  heart  to  God.' 

How  very  beautiful  that  last  meal,  sacramental 
indeed,  in  a  very  deep  sense.  Imagine  that  last  meal  of 
the  brothers,  just  as  if  it  had  been  by  the  Sea  of  Galilee, 
with  the  risen  Saviour ;  He  Himself  giving  them  the 
food  from  the  little  fire  of  coals  on  the  shore.  And 
now  on  the  eternal  shore  with  Him  for  ever  ;  refreshed 
by  no  mere  thoughts,  no  impersonal  sources  of  joy , 
'  the  Lamb  shall  lead  them  unto  living  Fountains.' 
Think  of  being  so  surprised  !  at  such  a  moment,  the  whole 
young  heart  radiant  with  His  Presence,  and  then  suddenly 
waking  up  and  finding  himself  there  ! 

The  same  to  his  sister  Grace  (alluding  to  a  visit  to 
Ro?ne  together  in  May). 

It  was  very  touching  to  say  that  24th  Psalm  in 
church  last  Sunday  (October  5),  and  to  feel  it  all  illu- 
minated— luminous  with  the  memory   of  those  uncon- 


1 80  In  Mentor iam 

sciously  last  words.  What  can  any  of  us  wish  for  more 
than  just  this— that  an  ordinary  step  of  our  everyday  life 
should  be  fit  to  be  the  step  up  to  the  threshold  of  the 
Temple  ?  Dear  Grace,  our  '  gradine  '  are  not  down  into 
the  dark,  however  dim  ;  they  are  upward  steps  to  a  true 
Ara  Cceli  ;  therefore  we  will  not  fear.  How  infinite  the 
difference  is  of  knowing  we  are  going  up  to  that  open 
door  of  our  Father's  House,  instead  of  to  some  bare 
peak  alone. 

A  few  months  later  Mrs.  Charles  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing lines,  which  she  gave  to  Harry's  parents  : — 

Little  those  brothers  knew 

At  that  midday  repast, 
In  all  the  joy  and  strength  of  youth, 

That  meal  would  be  the  last. 

But  had  they  known,  how  else, 
How  better  would  they  part  ? 

The  glory  of  God's  hills  around, 
His  Words  writhin  their  heart  ? 

For  One  who  knew  was  near, 

Unseen,  yet  by  their  side — 
1  Known  in  the  breaking  of  the  bread,' 

The  Risen  Lord  Who  died. 

His  light  reflected  shone 

Upon  that  youthful  brow, 
'We  will  be  glad  in  God  ! '  he  said, 

Glad  beyond  measure,  now  ! 


In  Memoriam  \  8 1 


They  knew  not,  as  with  toil 

That  treacherous  path  they  trod, 

Hoiv  high  for  one  of  them  it  led, 
Up  to  the  gates  of  God  ! 

But  the  dear  angels  knew, 

And  watched  them  up  the  height, 
Ready  to  bear  him  in  their  hands, 

Into  the  world  of  light. 

And  had  he  known  how  then 
He  climbed  the  Temple  stair, 

Scarce  had  his  heart  been  more  in  tune, 
More  full  of  love  and  prayer. 

What  higher  can  we  ask 

Than  that  each  meal  may  be 

Thus  hallowed  ?  as  though  ere  the  next 
Thy  glorious  face  we  see. 

Each  step  of  common  life, 

As  through  the  world  we  roam, 

Sacred  as  if  the  next  would  cross 
The  threshold  of  Thy  home. 


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SPOTTISWOODE    AND    CO.,     NEW-STREET 

Li  iNDON 


